Several streets in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood remained closed early Monday, following a rupture of the main water main in the area on Sunday afternoon.
The roads that are still closed include parts of Harrison Avenue, Beach Street and Knapp Street, with sections of the street still destroyed.
The 12-inch water main break was discovered shortly after 2:30 p.m. Sunday, when water began gushing from the steel plate covering an area on Harrison Ave where contractors had been working.
The Boston Water and Sewer Commission was able to shut off the water supply in about an hour, but some businesses in the area reported minor flooding; others had to deal with a lack of water or a lack of businesses because the area was closed to people walking or driving through the neighborhood.
BWSC crews continued to work through the night, coordinating with multiple utilities, as they worked to make repairs and investigate what may have caused this water main to break.
We don’t know what the cause of the break is,” said BWSC spokesman Thomas Bagley. “But we do see that there are steel plates where we think the break is and obviously there was a contractor that was here.”
It’s unclear how long the cleanup will last and how long these roads will remain closed, but drivers should avoid the area if they can and give themselves extra time if they need to go to the area.
