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Andrew Canon, Corporate Public Relations Manager at the NWC and Stephen Shaw, Communication Manager at the NWA
A major pipeline ruptured on Arthur Wint Drive in St. Andrew on Monday, spewing gallons of water into the air and leaving a number of communities in the Corporate Area without the commodity.
Radio Jamaica News was informed that the break occurred shortly after 9:00 a.m. in the vicinity of the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
A car was trapped after a section of the road collapsed. The driver had to abandon the vehicle, which was damaged by the water.
Witnesses captured the series of events on cell phone video.
Andrew Canon, Corporate Public Relations Manager at the National Water Commission (NWC), said teams have begun carrying out repairs.
"We have the pipeline that is going to replace the old pipeline. It is on the location. The old pipeline would have been ruptured due to the volume of water that was pumped through it, but our crews are on location, they're going to be working diligently and it's going to be a long haul as they have to cut that old pipeline out and put in the new pipeline," he said.
Mr. Canon urged motorists to proceed through the area with caution as the repairs take place.
He said communities in central Kingston will be affected by the water disruption.
"We're hoping that we can have the restoration later this evening. That is a hope. We have to be realistic though, because we have to deal with the challenge of the weather," he pointed out.
At news time Monday evening, the National Works Agency (NWA) was still awaiting an assessment of the damage to Arthur Wint Drive following the water main break.
NWA Communication Manager Stephen Shaw told Radio Jamaica News the agency was "not in a position to say what the extent of the damage is, but it is sufficient to have caused some curtailment in the movement of traffic through the area."
"Our understanding is that a 24 inch main burst this afternoon. The Water Commission has to respond and that response involves excavating the area beneath the road where the line is located. I've also been advised that outside of that immediate area, there are some other areas along that particular corridor that they may have to do work as well, so we expect that the corridor will not be available to the motoring public in the same way," he advised.
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