LEWISTON — Broken  water and sewer mains on Main Street snarled Lewiston traffic over night Friday and into Saturday morning.

Lewiston Public Works Director David Jones said that at first the crews suspected the problem was a broken sewer main on Main Street between Ware and Russell streets.

“Now it looks likes it was a water main break at first, and that may have broken the sewer main as well,” Jones said.

Police were detouring northbound Main Street traffic at Frye Street, according to Sgt. James Theiss. He estimated the detour would be in place at least until Saturday morning.

Southbound Main Street traffic was down to one lane.

“It’s a wet mess, with all the wind and rain,” Jones said. “It’s not a fun night for the crews out there.”

Jones said the department noticed a blockage in the sewer main Friday afternoon and tried using a rotary drain-clearing tool to open it up.

“And then we started seeing the water come up through the pavement,” Jones said.

Crews won’t know the cause of the water main break until later Friday.

“We don’t know yet,” Jones said. “They’re just digging it now, so we haven’t gotten down to the pipe yet. It could take all night. That’s a possibility, in this mess.”

staylor@sunjournal.com