BOSTON -- A water main break in a portion of the Big Dig caused some flooding on a ramp that is part of the tunnel system leading to the Liberty Tunnel, and that means detours and possible backups for the morning commute.

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Gail Huff Reports On Big Dig Water Main Break

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that workers were pumping out the Congress Street ramp, which is closed and was expected to be closed at least until noontime Wednesday.

The break occurred sometime overnight and caused quite a problem at the Kneeland Street construction site, behind the operations control center. The water from a broken, 6-inch water main spewed for hours before anyone noticed it, and by that time, water had already flooded the Central Artery tunnel system.

"Sometime last evening, a construction vehicle or a vehicle hit a jersey barrier that broke a 6-inch water line in to the job site at 185 Kneeland Street," said Matthew Amorello, of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

"In the ramp system, about 3-feet of water for about 400 feet, so there's quite a bit of water in the tunnel system. The men and women who work for Mass Pike at the operations control center picked it up last evening, alerted both the construction managers on site, Big Dig personnel. I received a call about 2 a.m. with information that there had been a breach in the tunnel wall. That's not the case. That's good news. This is just a water main break and we'll address it," Amorello said.

It's expected to take until midday to pump the water out, so the Congress Street ramp will remain closed until the ramp is cleared. The Ted Williams Tunnel and the new Liberty Tunnels were not flooded, however they were closed down temporarily.

SmartRoute's Cindy Campbell said there were a couple of detours in place as a result of the main break. She said that the Mass Pike and Ted Williams Tunnel westbound are used by quite a few commuters to get to I-93 northbound, if they're coming from points on the north shore, heading south on Route 1A southbound or coming in from Logan Airport. They will have to change their route and use the Sumner Tunnel instead or take Congress Street up to Atlantic Avenue.