Water Main Break Continues To Impact Downtown Traffic, Light Rail Services
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A water main break and an underground collapse have closed major streets and have disrupted light rail services in downtown Baltimore.
City Officials are asking commuters to avoid Pratt Street and to allow extra time traveling through the downtown area.
"We will continue to proceed to stabilize the area with the goal of restoring some kind of normal service eventually in terms of traffic flow," David McMillian, Emergency Management Director, said.
The problem started after a 12-inch water main break on Monday, and a separate incident where the ground around a manhole collapsed, trapping a worker.
"I started my day on Long Island," Russel Bubba, of Baltimore, said. "I drove through New York City and this is worse."
City Crews used radar to look for areas where the ground collapsed underneath Howard Street in downtown Baltimore.
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A worker was trapped underground on Monday while working on electrical equipment and had to be hospitalized.
"They're continuing to put fill into the current void related to the manhole vault collapse with the goal of clearing up the area," McMillan said.
The City is still investigating the cause of the underground Howard Street collapse and the relationship between heavy rains and a water main break that flooded a service area around M&T Bank Stadium, caused a train derailment and pushed sediment into the Inner Harbor.
"We turned off the valve that controlled the main and we're capping that off," McMillan said.
The light rail is still shut down from Camden Yards to North Ave. which is forcing some people to find a new way to get around.
"Took me half an hour to go a mile and half," Bubba said. "So year it took a long time. I just walked half a mile over to Camden Yards."
Officials said that they plan to reopen certain lanes at a time, but they are warning commuters that this will take several weeks to repair.