6 Million Gallons of Water Lost in Hyattsville Main Break

Drivers who travel through Hyattsville, Maryland, will have to avoid the area of Rhode Island Avenue and Crittenden Street for days after a broken water main spilled an estimated 6 million gallons of water onto the roadway. 

Crews worked for several hours Thursday afternoon to contain the break at Rhode Island Avenue and Crittenden Street. According to WSSC officials on Twitter, the break was contained around 7 p.m.

The water is gone, but a huge hole remains.

Crews worked through the night to make repairs, but only a southbound lane was open for the Friday morning rush hour, according to WSSC. Northbound lanes remained closed. 

News4's Pat Collins reported the water main -- which looked like a "gigantic fountain" -- caused the road to buckle. 

In January, a pedestrian was struck and killed on the same stretch of Rhode Island Avenue by a woman driving an SUV who hit a patch of ice -- police and WSSC officials had said they were looking into whether that water came from a broken water main. 

Rhode Island Avenue is a major corridor that leads to Beltsville and Baltimore.

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