News

Broken pipe near water main impacts downtown Boston traffic

BOSTON — A broken pipe in a busy downtown Boston street affected motorists driving through the city all day Thursday.

According to Boston Police, the pipe broke just before 11:30 a.m. in the area of State and Broad streets, gushing water out and covering a large swath of State Street.

Firefighters checked on businesses in the area but found no flooding while police officers closed off a block of State Street between Kilby and Broad streets.

Drivers were asked to seek alternate routes as the work is expected to continue through the night. workers don't have an estimate on how long it'll take to fix the issue, especially considering the rain in the forecast.

At the same time crews were working to fix the pipe, National Grid was at the same location repairing a small gas leak. Crews say it was minor and was under control quickly.

Water service was shut down in the area, but domestic water service wasn't cut because there are other sources water and sewer can draw from to supply water to nearby buildings.

Most businesses in the area tell Boston 25 News they were able to stay open, but for Al Costello's sub shop, the incident couldn't have happened at a worse time.

"[There are] 23 hours this could happen except 11:30 a.m., I do 90% of my business between 11:30 a.m. and 1 o'clock," said Costello.

But, with a little bit of creativity, he was able to keep business going.

"[For] about 20 minutes we were taking orders out of our back alley," said Costello.

A paving company is expected to help out after rush hour traffic dies down. The street should be back open by Friday morning, Boston water and sewer said.

Editor's note: This story has been modified to reflect the issue was caused by a broken pipe, not a broken water main.