Water Main Break in Raleigh Capped

A gushing water-main break slowed traffic at Western Boulevard and Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh late Thursday.

The break occurred around 9:45 p.m., and water shot dozens of feet into the air from a manhole on Western Boulevard, according to a WRAL photographer on the scene.

Andy Brogden, Raleigh's water-distribution superintendent, estimated that water poured out of the rupture at a rate of 100 gallons per minute.

Utility crews capped the break around 11 p.m., and no customers were affected at that point.

Brogden said it was likely that either a pipe had burst or an air release valve had failed. Crews were working to shut off the water to determine the exact cause of the break.