PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Crews responded to another water main break Monday morning in the city’s Overbrook Park neighborhood, where freezing temperatures turned streets and sidewalks into icy hazards.
Water started pouring out in Overbrook Park near City Avenue, and it was an icy mess.
Brian Holt lives on Greenhill Road near Haverford Avenue. He got up and saw there was water gushing out, pouring down the street, just making matters worse.
“The roads haven’t been pretty good since the cleanup so this is just causing more to it. More headache as you can see the traffic. When I came out of my house this morning to go to work, I didn’t know what was going on until my neighbors and they explained it to me,” he said.
Water department crews eventually responded and tried to clear the snow, slush and ice from the storm drains. It was a challenge because of the cold, and a lot of water bypassed the drains and kept streaming down Haverford Avenue all the way to City Avenue. The roads and sidewalks got slick fast.
The icy conditions led to a single-vehicle crash early Monday, when an SUV spun out on City Avenue. The driver was injured and taken to a hospital, officials said.
The water department said prolonged freezing temps can cause the pipes and the ground to expand and contract, plus very cold river water increases the likelihood for breaks to happen. Crews have responded to multiple breaks across the city in recent days. Yesterday alone crews responded to Manayunk, Roxborough, Northeast Philadelphia and Point Breeze.