Water main bursts in south Minneapolis, causing a big mess

A water main break in the vicinity of 50th and Penn has created a big mess Thursday morning and forced some residents of an apartment building to be evacuated.

Thousands of gallons of water were rushing down the streets and alleys in the vicinity of the break, the Minneapolis Fire Department said.

The water appeared to be coming from a pipe inside a building housing the Terzo Restaurant and five apartments above the eatery. Some residents have been evacuated, the Fire Department said.

Crews arrived on the scene about 3:30 a.m. to find “a large amount of water flooding out of the restaurant,” Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rucker said.

Firefighters have been unable to shut off the water, which continues to gush. The Minneapolis Water Department has been called, Rucker said.

With approximately more than a foot or more of water in the surrounding area, officials have asked residents living on Oliver Avenue to move their cars so they don’t freeze to the street, Rucker said.

At 6:30 a.m., the temperature in the area was 7 degrees below zero, according to the National Weather Service.

It’s made for a tough day at Lake Harriet Florist, just down the street from the leak. The basement of the store is flooded, and garbage cans behind the building are encased.

“They will be frozen in place until April,” owner Leslie Ruud joked.

But this is the busiest day of the year with Valentine’s Day on Friday. Some preorders are available for pickup, but shopkeepers can’t get to those in the basement.

“We’re going to have to have it pumped out,” Ruud said. “It’s exciting.”

Metro Transit routes 4 and 46, which run on 50th Street, have been detoured between Oliver and Penn until later today, the agency said.