Business owners in the 4400 block of Main Street say they heard a loud cracking noise as the sidewalk gave in and water came gushing out in front of the Ashes Cigar Bar.
Ashes Cigar owner Vasil Dergunov says his cigar representative was standing outside when it happened.
"The cement started to buckle and then he said he got an electric shock, he could barely walk, so he got back in his car, pulled his car around the corner and then the water started gushing out rather seriously," Dergunov said.
Action News caught up with Alan Price, the cigar representative who said it all began when the sidewalk started shaking.
"Next thing I know I was numb from the legs down and all of a sudden, the sidewalk started shifting, up and down and a few seconds later water started bubbling out of the sidewalk and filling the street in front of Ashes with water," Price said.
Soon a three block area of Main Street would be submerged in water forcing police to close it off to traffic.
"Submerging the whole, all the sidewalk, the middle of the street flood all water in my basement," Anthony Giordano of the U.S. Hotel Bar and Grill said.
Soon, customers began running for their cars fearful they would be flooded out.
"Everybody scared and all customers gone," Olivia Lee of the Tai Chi Center said.
The ruptured 8-inch water main forced some businesses like Kildares to close either because of the mess it caused or the lack of water.
"The problem is, now we have no water. we're in the beauty business. do nails and feet but no water, we can't do it," Christie Tran of Christie's Nail and Tanning Salon said.
For Dergunov, the issue was safety.
"I think I'll have to close down for a while until at least they fix the sidewalk and get the water running cause I can't function without water or the sidewalk, I don't want any customer to get hurt," Dergunov said.
The water main break closed traffic on Main Street between Green Lane and Leverington. Crews were finalized repairs around 2:00 a.m. Thursday. There is no word on when the road and sidewalks will be fixed.
