Crime & Safety
Relic From 1890 Uncovered During Hoboken Street Work
Workers responding to a water main break in Hoboken saw a 133-year-old object with "1890" on it, which isn't necessarily surprising.
HOBOKEN, NJ — As the mile-square city of Hoboken, N.J. suffered three water main breaks at the end of last week, water company workers hit a pipe that helped explain why the mains in the city break so often.
The pipe said "1890" on it.
Hoboken is currently engaged in a multimillion dollar project to replace 15 blocks, or 7,000 linear, feet of the city's oldest water mains.
Find out what's happening in Hobokenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The mile-square city's old mains have been blamed for numerous breaks throughout the years, even during work. READ MORE: Hoboken Suffers Water Main Break During Water Main Work
But even then, it's rare to find a conduit so old.
Find out what's happening in Hobokenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“The typical service life of a water main is 80-100 years," said SUEZ spokesman Chris Halleron, "so unfortunately, 132-year-old mains are eventually going to be compromised. This underscores the importance of the proactive infrastructure upgrades currently taking place throughout the city of Hoboken.”
After a break on Wednesday and two early-morning breaks on Thursday, water pressure was eventually restored. READ MORE: Second Water Main Break In Hoboken In 2 Days
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