BOSTON (WHDH) - Shocking video shared on social media Wednesday night showed drivers making their way through a flooded Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston as heavy rain fell on the city.
The flooding inside the Mass. Pike tunnel was blamed on debris blocking a storm drain and a broken pump, according to the Department of Transportation.
The flooding prompted officials to divert traffic away from the Ted Williams Tunnel until repairs could be made, the department said. It took crews about two pairs to make necessary repairs and it reopened around 11 p.m.
“We had initially thought that this may have been something simple like a pump station failure, like a breaker had tripped, however, when we went to reset the pump station, we discovered it was running fine and this was instead a clog that was in the inlet line,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.
“So this required a more extensive response than we would typically need to clear what is typical, localized roadway flooding,” he continued.
Maria Barajas was in an Uber with friends when they found themselves driving through the water.
“There was police presence, there was a lot of traffic, it was just something we had never seen before,” she said. “We were encouraged to go extra slow because there was so much water… I think it’s a little bit scary just to see so much water coming in.”
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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