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Crisis averted: Vine Street Expressway reopened after water main break

Traffic was diverted off of the Expressway in both directions at Broad Street, according to PennDot.

The eastbound side of the Vine Street Expressway in Center City shortly before being reopened Sunday morning. A water main break created icy conditions, forcing the road’s closure for a few hours. JOSE MORENO / Staff Photographer
The eastbound side of the Vine Street Expressway in Center City shortly before being reopened Sunday morning. A water main break created icy conditions, forcing the road’s closure for a few hours. JOSE MORENO / Staff PhotographerRead moreJOSE MORENO

It could have been worse. It could have been a weekday.

The Vine Street Expressway was put on ice Sunday morning when a water main break from above coated the roadway with ice and forced the closure of one of Philadelphia's major thoroughfares.

Fortunately, few experienced the closure, given that it was a weekend morning. The roadway reopened around 9 a.m.

According to PennDOT spokesman Brad Rudolph, sometime around 4:30 a.m. a main broke on the 17th Street overpass and water rained down to the Vine Street Expressway (I-676) below. Because of the frigid temperatures, the water quickly iced over and the roadway was shut down due to safety concerns.

Rudolph said traffic was diverted off the Expressway in both directions at Broad Street.

Philadelphia Water Department spokesman John DiGiulio said an 8-inch main that was found broken at 17th and Callowhill Streets appears to have been the culprit, but crews are still checking to verify that was the cause.

"It's turned off and we'll hopefully have a crew out there to make repairs later," he said.

Once the water was shut off, PennDOT crews salted and plowed the roadway before reopening it, Rudolph said.

A warming trend is expected this week, with temperatures reaching the 50s by Saturday.