A major water main break in Roxbury floods a street and damages a vehicle

“One car entered the sinkhole and the other was towed to clear the area,” said BWSC spokesman Stephen Mulloney. “The street has collapsed” and “there is a block between Camden Street and Northamption Street at Tremont Street that is impassable to cars.”

Mulloney said Tuesday afternoon there were no other reports of damaged vehicles.

The outage was reported shortly after 5 a.m., and the scene was still active Tuesday afternoon, said BWSC spokesman Stephen Mulloney.

The water main break was caused by a “rupture in a 20-inch pipe carrying high-pressure water throughout the city,” Mulloney said. “It finally gave way under the pressure and broke,” he said.

Mulloney said the exact cause of the crack was unknown, but it was likely a “small crack that just blew out.” He said this could have happened for a variety of reasons, such as the age of the pipe, vibrations from the street or the composition of the soil.

Mulloney said crews are working to replace a 5-foot section of the broken pipe. Following this repair, the damaged road will be repaired and is estimated to be completed by Wednesday morning.

The BWSC stated in X that no water services or hydrants were affected.

Sabrina Lam can be reached at [email protected].