Water Main Break Monday Shuts Down New Brunswick Streets

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A water main broke 11:30 a.m. Monday in New Brunswick, shutting down a key intersection in the heart of the city.

"Avoid the area of Joyce Kilmer Avenue between Welton Street and Redmond Street due to a water main break. The road will be closed in both directions," New Brunswick Police said in a Nixle alert at 11:41 a.m. Monday.

The aging water lines — often more than 100 years old — that run under New Jersey streets can break when temperatures dip below freezing, and also when there are sudden changes in temperature, such as in the spring and fall when temperatures switch 30 degrees, sometimes in a single 24-hour period.