Water main break floods the Lodge Freeway

Deep water covered part of the Lodge Freeway Thursday after a massive water main break.  Some motorists drove right into it.  Firefighters had to rescue them from their cars.

The good news is crews have stopped the water from flowing.  They won't be able to begin repairing the break until morning, but all lanes of the Lodge from Wyoming to the Davison are back open.

Sources with the Detroit Water Department tell FOX 2 they believe a 48 inch water main blew out Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Fenkell and Petoskey on the city's west side.

Incoming seagulls felt at home as the instant rapids raced to the area's lowest points like the Lodge Freeway.

The first thing on the checklist of a broken water main is to close the valves surrounding the break, but finding those valves is not easy.

However, there was some success Thursday night.  The valves were located and turned off.  The broken main was still bubbling some water, but at least it is not a free flowing flood.  They'll have to dig down deep into a giant sink hole to repair the broken main.  Right now, it's impossible to tell how long the repair will take, but what is clear is this will be one huge job.

The water department tells FOX 2 that they believe the tap water is safe.  They are not posting a boil water alert.