John Counter Boulevard closed for emergency water repairs

On the afternoon of Monday, Jul. 17, 2023, John Counter Boulevard was closed to traffic in both directions between Division Street and Leroy Grant Drive for emergency water repairs.

A possible water main break caused water to flood the roadway, and Utilities Kingston is on scene for “emergency water repairs,” according to the City of Kingston.

Utilities Kingston confirmed it was a water main break and stated that they expect the closure to be in place for the remainder of the day. The utility company also apologized for the inconvenience.

“Crews are investigating the cause of the water main break and expect to work into tomorrow in order to make repairs,” Utilities Kingston said in a statement. “To facilitate repairs and ensure the continued reliability of water services, customers in the area should be prepared for a water outage. A water service interruption is currently expected to impact up to 50 properties on John Counter Blvd. and Rigney St., beginning at 4 p.m. today. The outage is expected to be restored by 5 a.m. on July 18. Updates on water outages are available from our website at https://utilitieskingston.com/Outages/Water.”

Drivers are asked to choose an alternate route, and Kingston Transit Routes 2, 7, 16, and 18 are affected. The City provided the following details for Transit riders:

Platform 2 of the Bus Terminal Transfer Point is currently out of service; transit users are asked to board Route 16 Division/Dalton buses at Platform 3 on Leroy Grant (east side).  Stops at John Counter/Rigney are currently out of service. 

During this time, the following detours will be in place:

• Route 2 Division St.: from the Bus Terminal Transfer Point, buses will turn around in the Coach Canada parking lot, then will detour south on Leroy Grant, east on Elliott, and north on Division, returning to regular route at John Counter.
• Route 2 Kingston Centre: from the intersection of Division and John Counter, buses will detour straight on Division, right to Elliott, right to Leroy Grant, and will turn around in the Coach Canada parking lot to resume regular route at the Bus Terminal Transfer Point.
• Route 16 Division/Dalton: buses will service Platform 3 of the Bus Terminal Transfer Point.  From there, buses will turn around in the Coach Canada parking lot, then will detour south on Leroy Grant, east on Elliott, and north on Division, returning to regular route at John Counter.
• Route 16 Train Station: from the intersection of Division and John Counter, buses will detour straight on Division, right to Elliott, right to Leroy Grant, and will turn around in the Coach Canada parking lot to resume regular route at the Bus Terminal Transfer Point.

Please expect delays on all routes servicing the Bus Terminal Transfer Point, including Routes 7 and 18.

Utilities Kingston noted that the situation could change as they continue to investigate and facilitate repairs. “We will provide updates as they become available, both on Twitter @utilitieskngstn and on our website at https://utilitieskingston.com/News/Article/water-main-break-July-17-2023,” the company said.

“At this time cause is undetermined, however, the most common cause of water main breaks are old pipes: https://utilitieskingston.com/Water/mainbreaks,”

This is a developing story. Kingstonist will provide updates if/when they are available.