Water main break causes Bluffton road to blow open. When will it be fixed?

A water main break caused a large hole to blow open in a Bluffton road Tuesday, affecting traffic along the stretch of road from Burnt Church Distillery up to the circle.

A contractor broke a 10-inch water pipe while installing fiber optic cable, according to Jeff La Rue, the chief communications officer of Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority. The pressure from the water blew out of the northbound lane of Bluffton Road, right before the traffic circle intersection with Bluffton Parkway.

“Normally, if there’s a water line break, it could run for a while and not be discovered, and we have to go dig it up,” La Rue said. “In this case, when it’s got that much pressure behind it, it just blows the soil out of the hole and out from under the road, that’s what happened in this case.”

The BJWSA first received calls about low water pressure around 3:30 p.m., Monday. The contractor later informed the BJWSA about the break. The crew ended up containing the break by around 5 p.m. La Rue said the break was fixed by 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, and roadwork with gravel and asphalt would take place throughout the day.

La Rue said he expects the repair completion and all lanes of traffic to be open by 3 p.m. Tuesday.