'Considerable' Road Damage Due To Southington Water Main Rupture: UPDATE

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A busy section of roadway in Southington was closed for much of Wednesday due to a water main break that also caused massive traffic issues and "considerable" road damage.

According to the state Department of Transportation, Route 19 (Main Street) in Southington was closed at its intersection with Route 120 (Meriden Avenue) because of the situation.

The incident was first reported at 12:08 a.m. Wednesday, and it is still unknown when the roadway will reopen.

According to WFSB Channel 3, crews at 5:30 a.m. were still working feverishly to address the situation, and detour signs were going up, with motorists asked to avoid the area.

At 6:03 a.m., WFSB was reporting that the main break was fixed and water service restoration was expected soon after.

Later in the morning, the Southington Police Department released specific details of the traffic impacts in that area in the form of detours and road closures.

"Please follow posted detour signs and use caution in the area. Crews are working to resolve the issue. An update will be provided when the roadway is restored," wrote the SPD just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the town's water department — Southington Water Works — urged folks to run their taps a bit to clear their pipes of any discolored water and air from the system.

"As you know, this is associated with the water main break on Main Street," wrote Southington Water Works on Wednesday.

"This leak caused considerable road damage, creating challenging conditions to complete the repair. Our crew did an incredible job restoring water service as soon as humanly possible, and we continue to work to restore the roadway."

By late afternoon, however, the SPD announced that Main Street had reopened to traffic following a nearly day-long road closure.

For the full DOT traffic report, including incident updates, click on this link.

For the full WFSB Channel 3 report, click on this link.