SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Officials Friday morning reopened all Interstate 8 lanes in Mission Valley that were shut down after a water main broke under the freeway and subsequently formed a sinkhole.
Shortly before 12 p.m. Thursday, a broken water main was reported below the No. 4 lane of eastbound I-8 near Hotel Circle. The break caused a sinkhole about eight feet wide to form in the lane, prompting officials to close all eastbound lanes while crews worked to fix the break.
With traffic backed up for miles as water poured onto the pavement, officials rerouted motorists onto Hotel Circle and back on eastbound I-8 after the break.
RELATED: Main breaks, sinkhole make a mess in Mission Valley
The southbound and northbound connectors from I-5, and the Nimitz Blvd., Mission Bay Dr., and Sports Arena Blvd. on-ramps to EB I-8 were closed following the break.
Crews were able to stop the flow of water from the break, but water service was also turned off for surrounding homes and businesses, including hotels, during the repair efforts.
Shortly after 6 a.m. Friday, officials gave the go-ahead to reopen all eastbound lanes affected by the main break and sinkhole repairs.
About an hour before the I-8 situation, a water main break was reported along Morena Boulevard and Savannah Street -- in the same area, flooding numerous businesses and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
RELATED: Check traffic conditions
City water officials said a 16-inch-diameter, cast-iron water main broke and left customers in the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Morena Blvd. without water service.
In all, officials said there were five water main breaks in total -- two on or near I-8 and three in the Morena area all connected.
Crews are continuing to work on repairing the damaged lines, but no estimate for a completion time was immediately given.
