A Jamaica Plain intersection reopened Thursday, two days after a major water main break flooded the streets, city officials said.
The break occurred Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Centre and Ritchie streets in Jackson Square. The flooding caused traffic to be rerouted and temporarily closed the nearby busway.
Repair crews and firefighters arrived on the scene shortly before 4 p.m. to investigate the flooding. Initially, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) reported that a broken 36-inch transmission main had caused the flooding. However, they later clarified that it was actually a 12-inch diameter pipe that had ruptured, and the main feeding into it may have had a leak, The Boston Globe reported.
Within a few hours, crews managed to shut the main down halfway but were still working to locate the valve that would fully shut off the water. By around noon Wednesday, they had successfully shut down the main, the BWSC said on X.
A single lane of traffic was then reopened as crews continued to work around the clock making repairs. By about 8 p.m. that evening, they had excavated the area of the leak to replace the impacted pipe.
“Our goal is, as always, to restore water service as soon as possible,” the BWSC said on X. “Thank you to the crews that have been working continuously to restore services.”
After a full night’s work, the repairs were completed at around 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning, and road restoration began. The restorations and repaving were fully completed by 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
“Repair work completed this morning, now paving is also wrapped up, Columbus Ave now open all lanes in both directions,” the BWSC stated on X. “We thank you for your patience and thank you to the crews for your work on this main break.”
The replaced cast iron pipe dated back to 1897 and was last restored sometime in the 1990s, The Globe reported. The main it was connected to transmits water throughout the city.
Several nearby businesses were affected by the flooding, including three daycares that had to be evacuated. They were forced to close until the main was shut down and the area was repaired.
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/03/19/jackson-square-intersection-reopens-after-burst-water-main-flooded-streets/
