Water has been restored after a water main break on Sisson Avenue in Hartford swamped the street with 2 feet of water Friday night, prompting police to block off the area and shut down ramps to Interstate 84.
Crews were still on scene early Saturday morning, spending about four hours patching up the street. Water was restored at 2:30 a.m.
Thawing on Thursday and refreezing on Friday as it got colder caused the water main break, according to public works crews.
The weather has led to a record number of water main breaks in the capital city. It's typical for public works crews to respond to about 30 breaks in February, but this past month they responded to 70.
Although state police troopers said sewage spilled into the roadway, Hartford police said no sewer lines were affected. According to a spokesperson for the Metropolitan District Commission, the company isn't aware of any problems with waste water.
The break flooded basements in the area, including the Hartford fire station on Sisson Avenue, according to Hartford police, and froze on the roadway.
"The water immediately froze as soon as it hit the roadway," explained Hartford Police Sgt. Paul Cicero. "DPW is here now salting the roadway."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan District Commission said workers shut down the 12-inch water main at 9:20 p.m. Police said the "significant" break was reported around 6 p.m. Friday in the area of 145 Sisson Avenue.
The shutoff cut water service to the fire station, but Hartford police said fire operations have continued uninterrupted. It took crews six hours to fix the break, which did not affect water service to any homes.
Police said the effects will linger through the weekend. Sisson Avenue remained closed overnight and has since reopened.
The MDC has not released information on a potential cause, but Hartford police said cold weather may have come into play.
Authorities also charged a driver with DUI after he struck a police cruiser that was responding to the scene. The officer was not in the cruiser at the time. Neither the driver nor the officer were injured, police said.
Sisson Avenue was closed overnight for about 10 hours between Capitol Avenue and Warrenton Avenue.
The ramps to I-84 were closed for several hours but have since reopened.
