A water main break on Aberdeen's Route 22 was expected to slow homebound Aberdeen Proving Ground commuter traffic Monday afternoon and caused water to be shut off to some homes, city officials said.
The break was discovered late Monday morning just west of Paradise Road, at Roberts Way, City Manager Doug Miller said.
It took crews several hours to locate the pipe and find the source of the leak, according to Miller and Public Works Director Kyle Torster.
Aberdeen Proving Ground warned on social media: "The water main break will likely not be repaired until or beyond 8 p.m. this evening. APG workforce members are advised to avoid this intersection as road restrictions may greatly impede travel."
Miller said one lane was closed in each direction on either side of the median of the busy highway, which links the main employee entrance of APG to I-95.
"We have been up there trying to figure out where it is," he said.
"It's coming out of the ground at a fairly good clip," Miller said, explaining that any flooding should be "minimal," however, because "we have a valve on either side of 22," he said.
Some homes in the area were expected to be without water for a few hours while the line was repaired, Miller said.
At the scene late Monday afternoon, Torster said the 8-inch line is about 5 feet underground and crews would be placing a sleeve over the area of the leak once they dug down to the line.
Around 4:30 p.m., Torster estimated the repair work would take another two to three hours.
Aegis staff member Matt Button contributed to this article.