Water Main Break Closes Blue Line Station At Grand
(STMW) -- A water main broke in the West Town neighborhood Monday evening, flooding streets and a parking garage, and shutting down the Grand station on the CTA Blue Line.
The 8-inch water main that broke in the 400 block of North Halsted Street is made of cast iron and dates to the 1930s, city Water Management Department spokesman Tom LaPorte said.
It broke sometime in the 7 o'clock hour, flooding the streets and a parking garage below a condo building on Grand Avenue, LaPorte said. Some cars inside were damaged.
The water also flooded the mezzanine area of the nearby CTA Blue Line station, which remains closed Monday evening, according to transit officials.
As of 9:45 p.m., crews have shut off the water, which has drained into the sewer.
"We have a crew on scene and we're expecting the work to be done by dawn," LaPorte said.
Blue Line trains are still running through the area, but are not stopping in either direction at Grand, spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said citing preliminary information.
Customers have been cleared from the station, and should use the No. 56 Milewaukee bus as an alternative, she said.
The No. 8 Halsted bus is also rerouted in the area because of the situation, the CTA said.
"We are working quickly to resolve it and get the station back into service," Hosinski said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)