Water main break leaves D.C.-area commuters stranded

The Capital Beltway's inner loop finally opened two lanes to thousands of stranded commuters early this afternoon, following the 54-inch water main break which leaked several million gallons of water, according to John White, spokesman for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.

The break, which exploded just before 4 a.m. today in the 9200 block of East Hampton Road in Capitol Heights, closed down the Beltway between Central Avenue and Richie Marlboro Road for hours — halting Prince George's commuter traffic for several hours. By 2 p.m., it remained unclear how or why the break occurred.

"Basically, we are dealing with an emergency situation right now, and the investigation as to how this happened will have to wait," White said today. "We don't know if it's because (of) the cold."

To make matters worse, because the 40-year-old main burst when District-area temperatures reached a low around 18 degrees, the several million gallons turned to ice on the roadways, making driving a treacherous and fatal endeavor. State Highway crews turned out with hundreds of pounds of salt to coat the area, SHA spokeswoman Sarah Mettil said.