After a line break gushed water out of the middle of Garden of the Gods Road and sent it flowing down the street, Colorado Springs Utilities closed off all traffic and shut off water for the area Tuesday afternoon.

The move, made around 3:30 p.m., was to quell the water flowing freely down the road and pooling in some places. The roadway, the department said, will be closed at least through Wednesday, and some businesses were told that the closure could last up to three days.

Part of the reason for that, they said, was because water construction crews need to work around the clock tearing up the road, digging to the water line below the pavement, and treating the problem there.

“They will be out here all night long, every night, until this gets figured out,” spokesman Ted Skroback said. “This isn’t something where we pack it in at 5 p.m.”

The closure stretches from Rusina to Chestnut roads. Crews originally responded to the leak just after noon on Saturday, Skroback said, but James Bradley, a director at the Chick-fil-A just next to the break, said water started leaking around an hour before.

“It’s the worst water line break I’ve ever seen, because they closed both sides of the road,” he said. “We’ll be good, but it’s the mom-and-pops.”

Businesses along the road have still had water during the closure, he said, because utilities crews were able to divert water from alternative sources for them. For the most part, Skroback said drivers will be affected the most by the road’s closure.

“It’s affecting me getting my children after work on time,” said Damian Baugh, who lives in the area. “Getting to work, getting my kids — I almost ran out of gas sitting in traffic.”

To dig safely to the water line, construction crews were using the help of specialized personnel that help diggers locate other important utilities, like gas, power and internet lines also buried below the road, so they can avoid them.

But while construction is being done on the road itself, utilities crews will be taking advantage of the closure to start on additional repairs and projects. For example, spokeswoman Jennifer Kemp said crews would be looking at installing an alternative water line to prevent water shortages if there was another water line break in the future.

In the meantime, however, Skroback emphasized that drivers should avoid the road as much as possible, because driving over it could be dangerous.

“The road is compromised, we don’t know what’s going on underneath it,” Skroback said. “We just ask for patience from the public because this can be an unsafe area if you’re trying to drive over it.”