Water that gushed from broken main temporarily closed busy North Hills road

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Water gushed onto McKnight Road in Ross Township Friday morning after a water main break that forced a closure of northbound lanes.

The break was reported shortly after 5 a.m. along the northbound lanes between upper and lower Nelson Run Road.

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Traffic was initially allowed to get by, but as the water continued to cover the roadway, police shut down the northbound lanes. Drivers were detoured onto Nelson Run Road until the lanes reopened about 7 a.m.

Crews from West View Water Authority are working to make repairs.

Once the water was shut off, crews salted the road to prevent icing, as temperatures were below freezing.

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Where Friday morning's break happened is not far from a break on Evergreen Avenue in January 2018 that also caused major delays.

Five miles up McKnight Road, nightmare flooding in June 2017 trapped a burning car. That also happened in part because of a damaged sewer line.

Issues continued a little farther up the road with a water main break near the Ross Park Mall entrance in May 2018 -- and the collapsed sewer line on McKnight Circle in July that opened up a massive sinkhole.

>>READ: Crews worked through the night to restore water, fix sinkhole off of McKnight Road

That sinkhole and the June 2017 flooding were caused by a collapsed pipe that runs along McKnight. Sections of that pipe are the responsibility of nearby businesses, not the township. That has made any long-term repairs difficult, with some business owners reluctant to invest the thousands of dollars needed.

Cox Media Group