Repairs continue after broken water main closes lanes on South Dixie Highway near UM

Repairs are expected to be completed on a broken South Dixie Highway (U.S. 1) water main by 10 p.m. Saturday.

Two of three southbound lanes on the highway between Mariposa Court and South Alhambra Circle have been reopened.

Coral Gables Police spokeswoman Lauren Poole said Saturday afternoon that multiple, non-UM graduation ceremonies were scheduled at UM’s BankUnited Center — off Ponce de Leon one block west of South Dixie — in four-hour intervals throughout the day.

“There are a lot of people graduating from the BankUnited Center,’’ Poole said. “Anyone diverting from U.S. 1 to avoid the water-main break will also run into traffic.

“People need to give themselves more time to get where they need to be. If there’s a graduation, people really need to get there earlier.’’

Poole said the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department and Coral Gables police were on the scene assessing the situation and determining whether the pipe that burst was 18 inches or much larger.

“If it happens to be the much larger pipe, it may take a lot longer to clear up,” Poole said, “so this could go into the early morning hours. As of now water is bubbling out by the grass and curb and spilling onto the roadway.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Repairs continue after broken water main closes lanes on South Dixie Highway near UM."