Marin Water crews closed two lanes on 2nd Street in downtown San Rafael Thursday night to fix an urgent water leak, with the repair scheduled to finish by 5 a.m. Friday, July 31.

The closure affects 2nd Street between B Street and Brooks Street, near 1015 2nd St. The city posted the emergency notice Thursday afternoon, July 30, saying Marin Water scheduled the work for 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to minimize traffic impacts on the busy downtown corridor.

The cause of the leak has not been disclosed. The city did not specify which lanes are closed or whether the street is fully shut to through traffic during the repair window. Marin Water is notifying affected properties directly.

Separate from Miracle Mile project

The emergency repair is unrelated to Marin Water's larger pipeline replacement project along the Miracle Mile corridor, where crews are swapping out water mains with segments dating to 1883. That planned work, focused near the Second and Fourth Street intersection, is expected to finish its first phase by late August.

Marin Water spokesperson Jessie Underhill told the Marin Independent Journal on July 22 that replacing the aged water main "provides an enormous benefit to the San Rafael area in terms of water system reliability and resiliency."

A $4.1 million city safety improvement project at Second and Fourth streets is set to begin after Marin Water completes that phase.

Second downtown disruption this week

The overnight lane closure comes one day after a gas line rupture on Fifth Avenue and B Street forced evacuations and a shelter-in-place order in downtown San Rafael on Wednesday, July 29. That incident involved a PG&E gas line, not a water main, but both events required emergency street closures in the same downtown corridor within 48 hours.