Water main repairs in Bowie to close part of Route 197

WASHINGTON — Emergency water main repairs will close a portion of a busy road in Prince George’s County this weekend to fix an old pipe.

An aging, 24-inch water main in Bowie buried underneath Maryland Route 197 has failed, according to the Maryland Highway Administration.

Starting Friday at 7 p.m., the southbound lanes will be closed near Race Track Road for the utility work. The excavation and repairs are expected to last through the weekend.

Crews plan to keep the northbound lanes open for traffic heading toward Laurel, but those drivers will not be able to turn left onto Lanham Severn Road.

Traffic from Laurel will be detoured onto Lanham Severn Road. Repairs should wrap up by 5 a.m. Monday.

The estimated cost of the emergency pipe repair is $50,000.

There have been a few other noteworthy water main breaks in Maryland in recent days.

On Tuesday, a 16-inch pipe failed under Bradley Boulevard causing dozens of nearby residents to lose water service. Wednesday’s water main woes were in Silver Spring under Colesville Road — gushing water from the rupture flowed into nearby intersections.

Dave Dildine

A native to the Washington area, Dave Dildine is no stranger to the region's complex traffic and weather patterns. Dave joined WTOP in 2010 when the station launched its very own in-house traffic service. You can hear him "on the 8s and when it breaks" from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

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