Storm Slams City Streets

(Updated) Union Avenue reopened on Saturday afternoon, after workers repaired damage from a heavy rainstorm that flooded parts of the city Friday morning.

Police had diverted traffic off Union Avenue between the train station and the Knights of Columbus Museum, where rain forced a manhole cover to burst through the asphalt Friday morning. Cars could still reach the train station, but only from Church Street South.

The rupture opened around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, said city worker Honda Smith. She was one of several city employees investigating the problem at Union Avenue. Cars parked on that street flooded, and were towed away.

The incident was one of many flooding cases across town, in the wake of a storm that pounded the city with rain and wind overnight and most of the morning. From 8:15 to 10:15 a.m., firefighters responded to 44 separate calls for storm-related emergencies, according to Assistant Chief Ralph Black.

“We’ve had quite a few people who were in cars that we’ve taken out of their cars,” he said. There were no injuries, Black said — ​“just a lot of water damage.”

The rain flooded streets across the city, as well as a basement cafeteria at New Haven Academy.

As of 2 p.m., the following streets remained closed, according to Smuts: Union Avenue between North Frontage and the train station, West Water Street and South Orange Streets near the police station, as well as an area outside the police academy, near 710 Sherman Ave.

Other floods subsided when the tide went out, and the rain had let up by 2 p.m.

“The storm definitely has passed,” Smuts said.

Over 200 homes, mostly near the Edgewood School, lost power in the storm, he said. The homes were estimated to regain power by 2 p.m. CT Transit buses were running up to one hour behind schedule. Metro-North and Amtrak trains were delayed because of limited vehicular access to the station, he said.

Union Avenue, a major state road that passes Union Station and the police station, was severely flooded in the storm.

Smuts, who stood there under an umbrella Friday at 11 a.m., said the dislodged manhole was connected to an un-separated sewer that mixes storm water and waste water. That means, he pointed out, that some of the pieces of paper washed out onto the street is probably toilet paper.

In front of the police station, a crack between the street’s double yellow lines and bulging pavement were evidence of the morning’s damage to the road. Smuts said a stretch of the street in front of the police station had been entirely buckled upward, bringing the safety and integrity of the road into question.

One theory of why the road buckled is that when the state repaved the street a couple months ago, it paved over manhole covers that usually release water during heavy rains. With those points of egress blocked, the water bubbled up under the entire street and forced it upward.

Kevin Nursick, spokesman for the State Department of Transportation, said that theory is a good one. He said when the state repaved the road, it followed established procedures by contacting the city and all utilities that had manholes in the street. Utility companies generally elect to raise their manholes to the new road level after a repaving, Nursick said. When that happens, the state paves over existing manholes, and utility companies then cut a hole in the asphalt and raise their manhole.

“In this case, the city was notified that the project was taking place and that the utilities would need to be adjusted,” Nursick said. The utility companies apparently elected not to cut out their manholes, he said.

The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) owns some of the manholes on the street, Smuts said. Other utility companies own others. He said the city is investigating to determine if the state upheld its responsibility to notify all the utility companies. ​“For all the utility companies to drop the ball [by not raising their manholes after paving] seems a little peculiar,” Smuts said.

The results of city and state investigations will play a large part in deciding who gets stuck with the tab for the repair of Union Avenue. Nursick said he couldn’t estimate how much the repairs would cost until the extent of the damage is determined.

“It doesn’t seem like the city” will be left holding the bag, Smuts said. ​“It will probably come down to the WPCA or the state.”

Nursick said the DOT will go ahead with repairs first and determine responsibility next.

The DPT, the WPCA, and utility companies were on the scene Friday.

Across town, Felix Van Dokkum took a walk with his mom, Hester Vanderhoer, on Everit Street, near the rear of the Worthington Hooker School. Wearing bright blue puddle boots, 1‑and-a-half-year-old Felix dipped his feet in the water whenever he could.

The street was flooded for the length of about four houses. Vanderhoer surmised the drains were clogged by leaves and acorns.

“It’s lovely weather,” she remarked as the rain let up around 11:30 a.m. ​“I’m glad I could take a walk with him.”

The intersection of Lawrence and Orange Streets suffered the same flooding — until city workers Shawn Tobin and Chris Santiago (at left and right in photo) showed up. They were unclogging the drains with rakes and shovels around 11:35 a.m. The water that had shut down the street a half hour before had disappeared.

Further toward downtown, students at the New Haven Academy stood outside, huddling under umbrellas. One student, apparently fresh out of shop class or science lab, sported eye goggles. The cafeteria in the basement of that school flooded Friday morning, according to schools spokeswoman Michelle Wade. Students were going to eat in the gym.

The evacuation was unrelated to the storm, however. A student happened to pull the fire alarm, prompting two fire trucks to appear, then quickly depart.

Students were let back into school before noon.

At an unrelated press event Friday morning, Mayor John DeStefano gave a rundown of areas that flooded. He mentioned the corners of Dean Street and Morris Causeway in the East Shore, Whalley and West Rock Avenues in Westville. Water was on the highway at the intersection of I‑91 and I‑95, and there is flooding at Rt. 34’s Exit 2, he said.

Assistant Chief Black said the pumps were put in place in areas of chronic flooding, such as Dean Street.

“We’re in good shape,” he said. ​“It appears we’re past the worst part.”