Burst pipe causes chaos

PART of the Brooker Highway may remain closed this morning after a burst water main flooded the major road.

The water main, on the corner of Brisbane St and the Brooker Highway ruptured just before 7pm with water reaching at least 25m into the air and flooding both roads.

It sent bitumen, bricks and large rocks flying across the road and onto the roof of DJ Mitsubishi, which was badly damaged by the water.

The pipe was still spewing water about 11pm, with the cause not yet known.

Last night the Brooker’s northbound lane remained closed at the railway roundabout, with Brisbane St between Campbell St and the Brooker also closed.

Detective Inspector Craig Joel said engineers were inspecting the integrity of the Brooker and Brisbane St to determine if alternate traffic routes were necessary.

“[This] may potentially cause traffic congestion in the morning peak if the roads are still closed,” he said.

“Water is flowing beneath Brisbane St and this will also prompt a full scale inspection before the road is opened.”

TasWater acknowledged an outage last night, with CBD and Glebe residents also urged to store water because mains were expected to be turned off.

Power may also be cut because of the extensive damage caused by the water flow.