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By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
A man wearing shorts looks over the flooding this
morning at Kapiolani and McCully. A break in a
water main sent water flowing over curbings.

Kapiolani
water repairs
to continue
into evening

A water main break
created traffic problems at
the intersection with McCully

---

By Jaymes K. Song
Star-Bulletin

Repairs to a major water-main break on Kapiolani Boulevard that disrupted rush-hour traffic this morning were expected to last into the evening.

The break was reported at Kapiolani and McCully streets at 4:20 a.m., police said. The flooded intersection was closed, as were several neighboring streets.

There are three major water lines -- 12, 16 and 30 inches -- that connect at the intersection. The 12-inch main was the one that broke, said Denise DeCosta, city Board of Water Supply spokeswoman. It wasn't immediately known what caused the break.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
A major water main broke at Kapiolani Boulevard
and McCully Street. Crews have closed roads
and will make repairs.

Crews will have to dig down to the water main, repair it and then repave the entire intersection.

Blue plastic pieces of the water main were spewed onto the roadway, along with thousands of gallons of water, rocks and debris. Some of the water, calf-deep in areas, was flowing onto the sidewalk and the parking lot of McCully Shopping Center.

Police said they had to close the area because the break is "right smack in the middle of the intersection."

Morning commuters had to use residential side streets, which caused a slowdown throughout the area, including added congestion on the H-1 Freeway and Ala Moana Boulevard heading into downtown.

Police closed off Kapiolani Boulevard between Kalakaua Avenue and Wiliwili Street in addition to McCully Street between Lime Street and Ala Wai Boulevard.

At least three city bus lines had to be rerouted.

Employees at the 7-Eleven next to the intersection said the break was disastrous to business. Only daring pedestrians could reach the store.

The assistant manager, Aurora Mason, estimated that the store did only 5 percent of its regular business this morning.

Water officials said no homes had been affected. Some residents, however, reported phone outages, according to a Verizon Hawaii spokesman.

McCully resident Pontos Lundqvist remained upbeat, although water pressure in his home was very low, his phone service was out and he was late to work. He was at Frank Case Judd Park in his sleepwear early this morning using a pay phone to get a ride to work later. He normally catches the bus fronting the park.

"It happens," he said. "There's nothing we can do."