Portion of Western Boulevard remains closed due to water main break, could open Wednesday

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Crews are still busy repairing a water main that broke last Wednesday on Western Boulevard in Raleigh. Officials now say the road may not re-open for a couple more days.

The work zone has traffic diverted from Western Blvd. onto Interstate 440 in both directions.

Repair crews had to dig through 3 feet of asphalt, then through a concrete slab to reach the broken water main, which is turning out to be a complicated fix.

"We have over 2,600 miles of water lines. That's enough to go from Raleigh all the way to Los Angeles. A lot of that system is fairly new, from the 80s on. That's when Raleigh saw a lot of growth. But obviously a lot of it was here before World War II," Ed Buchan said who is an environmental coordinator with City of Raleigh.

Crews are working to repair a part above the water main. Buchan says the cold and rain over the weekend affected their ability to wrap up the work earlier.