A major water main break in the heart of Robbinsdale on Thursday evening caused officials to reroute traffic away from busy County Road 9, also known as 42nd Avenue.

On the city's Facebook page, officials had asked drivers to avoid County Road 9 from the railroad tracks to Hwy. 100.

Even as the knee-high water receded, it was unclear how long County Road 9 would remain closed for repairs.

Robbinsdale has been aggressively tackling problems with water mains and pipes, particularly since a 36-inch water main burst on County Road 9 near Bottineau Avenue in July 2013. It had started as a tiny crack.

Leaks then caused 600,000 gallons of water to blast downward, creating a hole 20 feet deep in one of the city's busiest intersections. That flooding filled the intersection of County Road 9 and Bottineau Boulevard, which is Hwy. 81.

Those repairs kept County Road 9 shut down for three weeks last year.

No immediate answers were available Thursday night as to exactly where this section of pipe broke.

A large section of County Road 9 east of Hwy. 81 is being rebuilt over a couple of years, with old water pipes below that section of County Road 9 being replaced as part of the project.

Joy Powell