Geothermal break closes portion of Capitol Boulevard; work expected through afternoon

Update: Boise crews will likely continue repairs on a geothermal break that occurred Tuesday morning through the afternoon, Boise Public Works spokesman Colin Hickman said in an email.

Crews are still evaluating the damage, the email said. The farthest right lane of traffic heading north on Capitol Boulevard is open.

Below is our previous reporting.

One lane of Downtown Boise’s Capitol Boulevard has reopened while city of Boise crews work to fix a geothermal break that has caused eerie steam to float up from the street, according to city of Boise Public Works spokesman Colin Hickman.

A partial closure of the boulevard is in place from Front Street to Main Street, and a crew of about 10 Public Works employees were actively unloading equipment and digging into the street.

Hickman said the crew is still working to determine the source of the leak, but that the city has turned off that portion of the geothermal system to prevent any more water leaking through.

He said crews have not yet determined when the leak will be fixed.

“It’s hard to say when we’ll have a better sense of that,” Hickman said. “It really depends on when they’ll be able to find the source of that leak.”

The city encourages commuters to plan their route accordingly and will update the public when the road completely reopens.

This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 10:34 AM.