UPDATED on 1/31/2022 with new completion work date.
LOS ANGELES (October 28, 2021) – Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) crews will be implementing a partial street closure on La Brea Ave. in the Baldwin Hills Area beginning Friday, October 29 to the end of February 2022 in order to complete emergency repairs to a 66-inch drinking water pipeline.
The weekend of January 29, 2022, LADWP crews identified a 30” gate valve leak on the water pipeline under repair along La Brea Ave. They prepared the work area that is more than 20’ deep and are replacing the valve. Once the valve is fixed then the pipeline will be pressurized to determine if it is sealed without leaks.
Southbound lanes along La Brea Ave. will be closed to traffic from Coliseum St. to Don Lorenzo Drive. La Brea Ave. will remain open to northbound traffic only.
Since the beginning of the repairs in October, crews have been working around the clock, 16 to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to complete the repair as quickly and safely as possible.
Traffic Control Officers will be on-site during peak hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to help direct traffic through the following intersections:
- La Brea Ave. and Coliseum St.
- La Brea and Obama Blvd.
- La Cienega Blvd. and Obama Blvd.
Vehicles traveling southbound on La Brea Ave. are encouraged to take alternate routes. From southbound La Brea Ave. take:
- Martin Luther King Blvd. east to Crenshaw Blvd., south onto Stocker St., and west to La Brea Ave.; or,
- Obama Blvd. west to La Cienega south.
The water pipeline under repair is a large diameter trunk line used to transport large amounts of drinking water across the city. The trunk line does not serve customers directly, but is connected to smaller distribution pipelines, which serve water customers. Water service to the area will not be impacted by this work. LADWP has coordinated with other local agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Department of Transportation to complete this emergency repair work as quickly and safely as possible.
“The safety of our customers and communities is our top priority,” LADWP General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin L. Adams said. “We realize this is inconvenient, but these repairs are necessary to prevent more significant, and potentially more complicated repairs. We have worked hard to minimize the impact this project will have and are very appreciative of everyone’s patience, cooperation and understanding as we complete this work.”
The leak on the pipeline was first detected on Friday, October 22 and since then the water in the pipeline has been rerouted to prevent further damage on the line, and permits secured to begin emergency repairs on the line.
