Maine

A water main break near northbound Route 13 in Salisbury has left about half a dozen homes without water Monday morning, city officials said. At least five homes on Middle Neck Lane and businesses from Pep Boys at Priscilla Street to Boulevard Motors north and southbound Route 13 will be without water, city officials said. The main is expected to be repaired by 2:30 p.m. One northbound lane on Route 13 will be shutdown. jkanderson@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

A broken water main that had the potential to affect 2,600 homes and business in eastern Baltimore County has been repaired and water pressure was restored Wednesday morning, a city public works spokesman said. Crews discovered the break in the 12-inch water main on Simmons Avenue, along a water main leading to the Colgate Water Tank in the county, about 3 p.m. Tuesday, said Kurt Kocher, a public works spokesman. The affected homes were along Eastern Avenue in the Eastwood and Colgate areas.

A gas main break near Overlea High School closed Kenwood Avenue Wednesday afternoon and forced 10 homes to be evacuated, Baltimore County police said. BGE stopped the gas leak at Kenwood and East avenues, around 3 p.m. and officials said Kenwood Avenue was expected to reopen Wednesday afternoon. No injuries were reported. Separately, BGE said Wednesday that it was upgrading natural gas mains in 10 Baltimore-area neighborhoods and will start six additional projects next year.

Shoppers who lined up at Sears on Thanksgiving and braved Walmart before dawn on Black Friday might want a change of pace, city officials are hoping. With the Miracle on Main Streets campaign, the city hopes to encourage holiday shopping in Baltimore's historic neighborhoods, at small shops lining the business districts. The campaign's motto: "Do it all without the mall. " Participating neighborhoods, all part of the city's Main Streets program, include Belair-Edison, Brooklyn, East Monument Street, Federal Hill, Fell's Point, Hamilton-Lauraville, Highlandtown, Pennsylvania Avenue, Pigtown and Waverly.

A stretch of Charles Street that was damaged and closed after a 90-year-old water main broke beneath it and sent torrents of water downhill two weeks ago was reopened Wednesday night, according to Baltimore's Department of Public Works. The stretch reopened - "just in time for holiday travel," the city said - about 8:20 p.m., after being closed between W. North Avenue and W. 21st Street in the city's Charles North neighborhood Nov. 7. All sidewalks, road surfaces and utilities on the street damaged by the break are also fixed, the department said.

I had a passing thought: I was wondering if the Baltimore City Department of Public works has an ark stored somewhere ("City crews repair two more ruptures in aging water lines," Nov. 14). You know, just in case. Patrick R. Lynch, Nottingham

While on the winding road in the Patapsco River Valley, I thought it had been 30 years since I last visited Oella, the mill village tucked deep into the hills between Catonsville and Ellicott City's Main Street. On a fall day, the rocky terrain, steep hillsides and leaf colors suggested that Oella might be in Vermont or West Virginia. Then I turned a bend and a resplendently restored Oella Mill appeared. It was one of those astounding moments, as if you hadn't been to Baltimore's harbor for 40 years and returned today.

City work crews have located, removed and replaced the old pipe that ruptured Monday and sent water cascading through several downtown streets, fully restoring service to the affected neighborhood. By 9 a.m. Tuesday, a new 30-inch main had been installed, officials said. Testing of the new main lasted through the afternoon, an official said. Repairs were completed Tuesday night, and service was fully restored to the local customers who had been without water service or had experienced low pressure through much of the day, said Tiffani Church, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Public Works.

As of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, traffic was slow on I-97 northbound at Route 100 in Anne Arundel County, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on I-95 southbound at the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore City, I-95 northbound near Route 295 in Baltimore City, Priestford Road near Churchville Road in Churchville, Erdman Avenue near North Point Boulevard in Baltimore City, Liberty Road near Abbie Place in Baltimore County, Dogwood Road near Lord...

For the second time in five days, the city is dealing with two sizable water main breaks that are disrupting service, snarling traffic and shedding light on Baltimore's aging infrastructure. A 30-inch pipe at East Madison Street near Guilford Avenue broke Monday shortly before 8 a.m. and sent water gushing down Guilford Avenue as well as Fallsway. Businesses and institutions in a 12- to 14-block area either lost water altogether or saw pressure drop for a few hours, including at Mercy Hospital, Our Daily Bread and Center Stage . As the city worked to restore water pressure to most buildings in the downtown area, a 16-inch pipe broke in Essex, on Philadelphia Road at Rossville Boulevard, affecting water service to Franklin Square Hospital and Essex Community College, which canceled classes for the day. Kurt Kocher, spokesman for the city's Department of Public Works, said crews were responding to the new break, which is part of the city's water system.