DPW Chief: Old Pipes Caused Water Main Break

Pressure on the aging water infrastructure caused the water main break that shut High Street earlier this week, public works commissioner Jack Buckley said.

 "It was just the age of the pipe - it was really nothing else," Buckley said. "You can see by where High Street kind of goes up hill toward Brooks School, over the years because it’s not lying flat, it just failed."

The Department of Public Works responded to High Street near Brookline Bank in West Medford about 2 p.m. Monday. When the problem was first reported, a small amount of water was bubbling up from the street, Buckley previously said. But shortly after a crew arrived, the water blew through the asphalt, sinking the street. The rear tires of a DPW pick-up truck parked outside Brookline Bank partially sunk into the road, Buckley said.

The road was shut for about 16 hours as crews dug to the pipes beneath the surface. About 10 feet of piping was replaced and the road patched up, Buckley said. Medford's water line infrastructure is over 100 years old, he said.