ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Streets are closed in both directions in the area in front of the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center Wednesday morning due to a water main break, Alexandria Police said.
Police are asking people to avoid the area and have shut down the streets in the 200 block of South Whiting Street from Stevenson Avenue.
It appears large amounts of water is piercing through the break and causing a huge mess and some flooding on the street.
Virginia American Water is at the scene of the 12" water main and they have a contractor crew on site to make repairs. They expect repairs to be completed by 5 p.m.
VAW says the cause of the break was a broken valve.
About 21 customers and 15 hydrants experienced low pressure or no water. VAW expects service to be restored to customers by noon.
It is unknown when the roads will open back up. At this time, South Whiting Street South of Stevenson Avenue will be open to local traffic only.
To view the latest traffic updates in the area. Take a look at our traffic map here.
Here's a video of the water main break that was taken around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday:
This story is developing. WUSA9 will continue to update this story as additional information becomes available.