FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- Early Saturday (June 24) the 2100 block of N. College Ave was down to one south bound lane due to a water main break, according to the Fayetteville Police Department. They asked drivers to avoid the area, if possible, and to expect delays.
One driver's vehicle got stuck in a hole created by the break. Mary Ainsworth works nearby and went to help the family stranded in the van. "There was a baby in the van, too, along with the driver and others," said Ainsworth who provided photos to 5News.
This break marks the second time the water line in that spot has blown this week.
"A lot of times when we have one leak and we have to shut the water off, it causes more," Aaron Watkins, Fayetteville Water and Sewer assistant operations manager said. "So, we change the pressure in the pipe and we change the flow. You can have more problems after that."
The water main break forced traffic to be reduced to a single lane, causing traffic to back up.
"The pipe is almost in the middle of the two lanes," Watkins said. "When it blows out, we wash the road out to have a big enough area the guys can get in and work to replace the section of the pipe that's bad."
Two businesses that did not see much business because of the break are Beeline Tattoo and Taco Loco. The road entrance to get to their establishments is where the road was damaged and water spewed for quite some time. The water supply was also cut off during repairs, forcing some of the businesses to close for the day.
"It's very frustrating for us because we're not making no money," Ainsworth said. "We can't tattoo, we can't pierce without any running water and we can't wash our hands and stuff."
The businesses plan to open back up as soon as the parking lots are cleaned after repairs and the water is turned back on.
This is the third water pipe to break this week on College Avenue.