Crews work to repair a steam pipe in Boston

BOSTON -- Crews are working to repair a steam pipe underneath Milk Street on Thursday morning after the underground steam pipe burst in Boston's Post Office Square on Wednesday.

Pedestrians and drivers in the area received quite a scare.

"You couldn't see. There was like a lot of fog and everything," said a pedestrian.

When the pipe burst open, steam broke through the pavement, sending dirt and gravel in all directions. The burst left a hole approximately 26 inches in diameter in the street.

"It erupted, and put a pretty large hole in the street. Debris blown across the street. Thank goodness there wasn't no pedestrians or anybody out here, and the weather was like today. Nice day and there would've been a lot of people out here, so we're fortunate it rained as it did," said Fred Ellis, Jr. of the Boston Fire Department.

For several hours, hazardous materials crews were on standby because it wasn't clear if high levels of asbestos had contaminated the area. Roads were shut and people were kept back.

The steam leak was similar to another incident last month in the South End, when a pipe burst in that area. In both cases, no unusual levels of asbestos were detected.

So, while there was no contamination, it left many to wonder why it happened.

"Age is not really a factor. It's more the conditions in the specific area that something happens. So you have to really do the root cause analysis for that specific area. If there's a lot of water, if there's a lot of stress for some reason, that can cause a leak," said Rowan Sanders of Trigen-Boston Energy Co.

The incident forced officials to close Milk Street as crews work to clean up the mess.

The following is a press release from the City of Boston detailing road closures for Wednesday's evening commute due to the steam leak:

The Boston Transportation Department is advising drivers of three street closures in Boston that will hamper this evening's commute.

Due to a steam leak, Milk Street in Downtown Boston's Financial District is closed to vehicular traffic from Congress Street to Oliver Street, and Pearl Street is closed from Franklin Street to Water Street. Drivers are strongly cautioned to avoid the Post Office Square area. The detour routes that are currently in place are as follows.

-- Pearl Street, right to High Street, left to Oliver Street and left to State Street.

-- Milk Street, right to Congress Street, left to High Street, left to Oliver Street and right to Milk Street.

In Brighton, Washington Street remains closed from Lake Street to Oak Square as a result of a water main break earlier today. Traffic is being detoured westbound from Brock Street to Faneuil Street and eastbound from Washington Street to Faneuil Street.

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