Traffic resumed Thursday morning on North University Avenue after crews worked overnight to repair a busted water main that poured thousands of gallons of water into the street, a spokesman for Central Arkansas Water said.
Crew members fixed the broken water main at approximately 1:30 a.m. Thursday, about seven hours after the break occurred at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Central Arkansas Water public affairs director Doug Shackelford said.
The director called the breach a "spontaneous break" that could have been caused by a number of reasons.
The pipe, located under a storm drain culvert, had a small gash in the bottom, which technicians cut out and replaced with a new section of pipe, Shackelford said.
He said up to two service centers were without water for about three hours during the replacement, but no boil notices were issued.
Water gushing from the break caused severe damage to the southbound lanes of the roadway, which crews temporarily fixed by filling fissures with asphalt patches, Shackelford said.
The street was reopened at 6:45 a.m. with warnings to motorists to drive slow over the bumpy repairs. Shackelford said City of Little Rock repair crews could be at the scene as early as Thursday afternoon to repave the road and work on permanent adjustments.
"An event like this doesn’t happen very often," he said. "The crews did a good job. They repaired it in less than 12 hours, which is really fantastic."