A NASTY SURPRISE
A car is almost completely submerged after the Atwater Tunnel was flooded Tuesday morning when a worker accidentally cut through a 24-inch water main. The tunnel is expected to remain closed during this morning’s rush hour.
The Atwater Tunnel in southwestern Montreal was almost completely flooded Tuesday after construction workers cut through a 24-inch water main. It will remain closed during Wednesday’s morning rush hour. Water poured into the tunnel, just south of the Atwater Market, flooding some surrounding streets as well. The incident occurred when a contractor working in the sector accidentally broke the pipe, city spokesperson Marilyne Laroche Corbeil said. Earlier reports that the break was caused by natural gas utility Énergir were false, she said. Other news media were reporting Tuesday night the culprit was in fact Environnement routier NRJ, which was doing excavation in the area. Police and firefighters responded to a call around 10:30 a.m. and closed off streets in the area. Three cars belonging to construction workers were nearly under water, but no one was injured, Sud- Ouest borough Mayor Benoit Dorais said at the scene. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said no residences in the area were flooded. “It was a 24-inch pipe that was perforated,” she told reporters at the site. “That’s a major pipe, and we’ve seen the results. Luckily, the flooding was limited to the tunnel. No one was hurt.” The incident did not require water to be cut off from homes, nor was drinking water affected, Corbeil said. Montreal Police Const. Andrée-Anne Picard said police were at the scene helping direct traffic. Plante said the city was closing the valves so water would stop flowing from the pipe, then water would be pumped into the city’s sewer system. At the time, she did not know exactly how long it would take before the street could be reopened. “The valves have to be closed slowly and carefully, to avoid a water hammer effect in the pipes,” Plante said. The Sud-Ouest borough announced Tuesday night that workers would be draining and cleaning the tunnel Wednesday morning and that it would be closed during rush hour.