Southbound 101 in downtown L.A. closes for hours after water main break floods freeway
All southbound lanes of the U.S. 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles were closed at Mission Road through rush hour Wednesday morning after a water main broke and flooded the highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Flooding across all lanes was reported about 1:30 a.m., according to the CHP dispatch logs. Two southbound lanes reopened about 12:15 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
A passerby called 911 to report flooding in the 600 block of Formosa Avenue shortly after 3:45 a.m., a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson said.
An 8-inch cast-iron water main at 401 S. Boyle Ave. broke just after 1 a.m., said Renee Vazquez, a spokesperson with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The main was installed in 1903, utility officials said; the utility temporarily shut down water for 47 customers as a result of the break.
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