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Tim Nelson
Oakdale, Minn.

I-694 could stay closed through the weekend in Oakdale

A sinkhole on I-694
A sinkhole on I-694, caused by the water main break on Sunday.
City of Oakdale

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The water main break that closed Interstate 694 on Sunday could take until Friday to repair, and it may take several more days to fix the roadway, perhaps until Monday.

Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Gutknecht said it wasn't clear when I-694 would reopen, but that repairs would have to wait until the work was finished on the water main.

Crews are replacing the 12-inch main under the interstate and have restored water service to all but a handful of homes in the city, said Shawn Nelson, Oakdale's utility superintendent.

Gutknecht said the transportation department could do some preparations while the water main repairs were underway. Workers are using ground-penetrating radar to look for any unseen damage in the interstate right of way.

But with pits dug 15- to 20-feet deep on either side of the freeway and into the median, the work around the pavement could be some way off yet.

Officials offered some additional details on the leak that caused the problem as well. Nelson said the main that failed dates back to 1964, installed before the interstate was built. He said they are still trying to determine the cause of the break, but don't believe that age was a factor.

Nelson said the city's water utility estimates the leak drained more than 1.5 million gallons, more than the contents of one of the city's four water towers, in the space of about an hour and a half on Sunday morning.

About three dozen homes lost water entirely, and around 6,000 of the city's 11,700 residential customers lost pressure. But city officials say that's been mostly isolated and fewer than a dozen still are having water issues.