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Street Repairs Continue After Downtown San Francisco Water Main Break

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – San Francisco Public Utilities Commission crews have repaired a water main that broke early Friday morning, but continuing work on the street itself has left a major downtown intersection closed.

The break occurred at Fourth and Howard streets, near the Moscone Center and Metreon, around 3:15 a.m.

"Right now, it does not appear to be construction-related," Charles Sheehan of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission told KPIX 5. "This is an older section of the main, and the likely factor in these cases for older is usually age."

An official said that the broken water main dates back to 1895.

After the early morning break, several inches of water and mud covered the road. Crews cleared out the mess and then drilled two giant holes so they could reach the water main.

Water was initially shut off to about 200 customers but has since been restored, according to the SFPUC.

Officials said that water main had been repaired and service restored as of early Friday evening.

However, continuing work on resurfacing the street and ensuring that there aren't further issues with road stability will likely have crews working through the night, officials told KPIX 5.

There is no estimated time of reopening the intersection as of 6 p.m.

Howard Street is closed between Third and Fourth streets, and Fourth Street is closed between Howard and Folsom streets.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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