Downtown Minneapolis water line break reroutes Washington Av. traffic

A water line break in downtown Minneapolis had a one-block segment of Washington Avenue S. closed and commuters on detour for much of Friday.

The 6-inch line on the property of a Wells Fargo building between 2nd and 3rd avenues burst around 3:30 a.m. Friday and sent 30,000 to 40,000 gallons of water rushing into the street, said Mike Almstead with the city's water department.

Eastbound Washington Avenue was closed between 2nd and 3rd avenues, but at least one lane was to reopen Friday night, Almstead said. Westbound traffic was being allowed through.

All eastbound lanes will reopen this weekend after the city inspects the surface and determines it is ready, an e-mail from the city said.

Since the line is on private property, Wells Fargo is responsible for repairs. The bank has hired a private contractor to fix the line, Almstead said, and the fix was in place by Friday afternoon.

In a separate incident, northbound Lyndale Avenue was closed between 39th and 40th avenues N. Friday morning as crews repaired a leak in a water main joint.

Drivers were being detoured around the site. The work was expected to be done and the road reopened by Friday's evening rush hour, said city spokesman Casper Hill.

Tim Harlow