A break in a 66-inch pipeline caused parts of a major commuter road to collapse and sent up to 150,000 gallons of water gushing out onto to street every minute, trapping nine cars and forcing a nearby hospital to close its emergency room because of low water pressure.

The pipe that broke was 44 years old, was last inspected ten years ago, wasn’t due for reinspection before 2011, and was the third major pipe to break in the county in six months. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident and is representative of the challenges posed by a crumbling infrastructure.

Source: Washington Post