A downtown Springfield business has been forced to postpone its grand opening plans after a water main break flooded the intersection of Fifth and Monroe streets on Thursday evening.
This spring, Zac Lowman (who goes by Vinal Luciano) and Troy Minton announced plans to open The Bus Stop, a bar and live music venue, in the space that most recently housed Whiskey Jacks. The grand opening was scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28.
But at approximately 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening, water started gushing from the road in what CWLP later described as a break to a large transmission water main. Springfield police officers arrived on scene and blocked off the street, followed by firefighters who told nearby businesses that electrical service would be shut off as a precaution.
Customers impacted in the power outage include those on south side of Monroe Street to Cook Street between Third and Fifth streets.
Michael Howard, a bar manager at The Bus Stop, told an Illinois Times reporter that water had gotten into the basement of the building and “ruined our inventory.” He said the electrical panels were located in the basement as well.
“How long is this going to prevent us from getting it opened?” Howard asked.
A worker next door at Joe Gallina’s Pizza, 432 E. Monroe St. was seen sweeping water from the dining area out of the restaurant.
By 7 p.m. Mayor Misty Buscher was on scene, wearing a yellow hard hat and assessing the damage.
In a written advisory, a CWLP spokesperson said that crews were working to close a valve, which will restore water pressure for most, assess damage and make all necessary repairs. Monroe Street will remain closed between Fourth and Fifth streets through duration of repairs. Some lanes will be closed longer for road surface repairs where buckling has occurred.
Kidzeum of Health and Science sent out an email asking patrons to watch its Facebook page for updates on whether or not the children’s museum would be able to open on Friday.
“A water main break has left the museum without running water. Restrooms, handwashing, and drinking fountains are all affected, and we won’t open without them. That means we may not be able to open tomorrow,” it read in part.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional information shared by CWLP as of 9 p.m.
This is disgusting. Yet another failure from Mayor Musty and Alderwoman Purchase and now Jay Shan, the political hack from Downtown Springfield Inc., rushing in to defend them so he can keep milking taxpayers for the downtown parties he throws.
A real advocate would be fighting for what TIF is actually meant to do: repair and replace water lines, electrical systems, and streets. Instead, we get political ornaments, self‑promotion, and zero accountability. This is exactly why Downtown Springfield Inc. should be folded immediately.
Its performative theater designed to avoid the real problems they keep kicking down the road.
While they clap for each other like trained seals, the issues that hit residents every single day get ignored again.
TIF was never designed to be a slush fund for pet projects. It was created for old, blighted areas that need hard infrastructure replacement: sewer lines, water mains, electrical systems, and fiber.
That’s the statutory purpose. That’s the justification. That’s the promise made to taxpayers.
Jay Shanle defending negligent downtown scum lords and incompetent municipal leadership be like “He didn’t do that. And if he did, he didn’t mean that. And if he did, you didn’t understand. And if you did, it’s not a big deal. And if it is, others have done worse.”
The mayor put on a yellow hard hat…
Just in case water started falling I presume?
Her usual political theatre. Pretending to care about downtown.