A broken water main flooded a portion of the 101 Freeway in the Boyle Heights area Wednesday, creating extensive headaches for thousands of commuters who were forced to find alternate routes through the area.
The broken main was reported around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Boyle Avenue and Second Street near the Fourth Street exit, causing partial flooding on the 101 Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Both sides of the freeway were initially closed, but the northbound lanes later reopened.
The southbound lanes, however, remained blocked through the morning rush hour. CHP officials initially hoped to reopen the stretch around 9 a.m., but they later extended the SigAlert for an additional three hours while crews continued efforts to clear water from the lanes.
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Around midday, the two left lanes were reopened on the southbound freeway, and all lanes were open about an hour later.
