Pittsburgh Avenue will be closed to traffic between West 23rd Street and West 32nd St. on Tuesday, December 17 beginning at 8 a.m. 

The road will remain closed until 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 18. 

An Erie Water Works' subcontractor will be performing street restoration due to a water main break Sunday night. 

The warmup and meltdown of snow including Sunday’s rain caused the first big water main break of the winter season for Erie Water Works.

This first one happened Sunday evening along the City of Erie-Millcreek Township line around W. 23rd and Pittsburgh Ave. 

Officials said a 12-inch cast iron main installed in 1955 split causing a big rupture.

That resulted in low or no water pressure for some customers in the area, until the problem could be isolated and repairs made.

Crews worked all night to complete the repairs by morning but left the road with a temporary patch.

In their 775 miles of underground water mains, Erie Water Works sees some 250 breaks each year. 

They have an infrastructure renewal plan that prioritizes where to update water mains first, based on the data of their repair history.

CEO Craig Palmer said he will evaluate the Pittsburgh Avenue repair to determine if it should be moved up on the repair schedule.

When cast iron water mains are replaced, Erie Water Works now uses ductile iron, which is an alloy that is more flexible and twice as strong.

Starting Tuesday after 9:00 a.m. Erie Water Works is asking motorists to avoid the area if possible until the road repair work is completed.