Thursday, 4:30 PM
Water main ruptures near Neponset Circle
By Russell Nichols, Globe Staff
A 16-inch water main broke today and buckled concrete near Neponset Circle, closing several major roads and ramps to Interstate 93 and snarling traffic for miles.
The 1:30 p.m. rupture flooded the intersection of Neponset Avenue and Gallivan Boulevard, playing havoc with the evening commute.
Boston Water and Sewer Commission spokesman Thomas Bagley said officials were not sure what cracked the pipe, but they said they hoped to have the main repaired by this evening.
State Police shut down the Neponset Circle off ramp coming from I-93 at Exit 12, the Tollman ramp to southbound I-93, and sections of Neponset and Granite avenues and Gallivan Boulevard. Neponset Circle itself has also been closed.
The southbound lanes of the Neponset River Bridge toward Quincy were closed for about three hours while workers drained enough water to let motorists drive around the 6-by-6-foot sinkhole.
This afternoon a backhoe scooped chunks of concrete into a dump truck while men in hard hats and yellow galoshes sloshed around the torrents of water, shoveling gravel and muck into small mounds. Electric pumps whirred, sucking water out of the sinkhole and spewing it down a nearby drain.
The intersection should be completely fixed by noon on Saturday, Bagley said.
