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I-94 Reopens After Water Main Break Creates 'Sheet Of Ice'

DETROIT (WWJ) - A water main break made quite a mess on a major freeway on Wednesday afternoon, shutting down I-94 westbound at the Lodge in Detroit into the night.

The break was on Trumble near Elijah McCoy.

Westbound I-94 at M-10/Lodge and the southbound M-10 ramp to westbound I-94 remained closed throughout the night. All roads were reopened around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Reporting from above in Chopper 950, WWJ Newsradio's Lance Howard said at least a foot of water spilled onto westbound I-94, just west of  Trumble.

"We have crews on the scene. It looks like they've gone down into a manhole and shut the water off," Howard reported, Wednesday evening. "The bad news is, there's still standing water across all lanes of 94 west at Rosa Parks ... and, as you'd expect, it's a sheet of ice down here."

Jonas Fagans, with Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department told WWJ Newsradio 950's Jon Hewett that the break was sealed within 30 minutes but the draining simply took some time.

He said they had to open up snow-covered sewer grates to help the process. "Dirt pushed up out the ground to the sidewalk; that's where it's broke," Fagans said, adding that his department has been exceptionally busy during this spell of extreme winter weather.

Know before you go. For the latest, keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 during traffic and weather, every 10 minutes on the 8s. Visit our traffic page.

The Detroit Water Department has been working to keep up with water main repairs amid this week's frigid temperatures. A Water Department spokesperson said, as of Tuesday, they were dealing with a backlog of 80 breaks and leaks.

MORE:  Crews Work To Repair Dozens Of Water Main Breaks, Leaks In Detroit

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