Water main break floods Newton Corner and closes exit on Massachusetts Turnpike
NEWTON - A large water main break flooded sections of Newton Corner in Massachusetts Wednesday and leaked water onto the Mass Pike.
No customers at businesses
The break happened as rush hour was getting started and closed Exit 127 on the Pike. Other lanes in Newton Corner were closed all morning.
"Normally, it's still busy but not like it was this morning," said Larry Grigoryan, the owner of The Cobbler Shop. "This morning, it was horrible."
Between the daily traffic congestion and the water main break, Grigoryan said he had no customers all day.
"It's not normal, maybe because they all heard on the news there's issues," said Grigoryan.
Police said the break started just before 5 a.m. on Centre Street. The water then spread to Washington Street before leaking onto the Pike, shutting down an eastbound lane and closing old exit 17, a major artery for commuters heading into the city and customers headed to Newton's Honda Village.
"Thought it might be impactful on the business today," said Carl Pasquarosa, the general manager of Honda Village Newton.
Construction in area
Newton Corner has been undergoing construction for awhile and MassDOT recently changed the rotary's traffic patterns in an attempt to alleviate congestion. The exact cause of the water main break is under investigation.
"We do know that a lot of the systems around here are ancient and we've had a lot of development out here with the gas lines," said Pasquarosa. "It might have been just something impacted by all the construction that's going on."
"I would say it's better than it used to be, much better," said Grigoryan.
In a statement, the city of Newton said the main was fully repaired and working again by 8 a.m. and no customers lost water service. All roads have since reopened.
