Gushing Water Main Break Allowed to Keep Flowing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A water main break has caused a portion of road to sink near I-35 and Antioch in Kansas City, Mo.

Officials with Public Works said the pipe burst around midnight. Typically, water would be turned off, but there are several hotels in the area that would have been affected. Crews initially expected to shut the water off around 7 a.m., but then pushed it back to 9:30-10 a.m. to give hotels the opportunity to notify guests of the shut-off.

An estimated 26,000 gallons of water per minute is gushing out of the pipe. The heavy flow of water has caused a portion of the ground to sink. Because of the unstable ground and amount of water, NE 43rd Street is down to one lane.

Public Works expect the water to be turned back on by early evening, provided that there are no other utilities affected by the break.