For the second time in almost as many weeks traffic came to a halt along Harbour Road because of a broken water main.

Police Services told The Royal Gazette flooding from a cracked water main Saturday closed the road for about six hours before work crews from Watlington Waterworks had isolated and repaired the break.

And a second water main break Saturday snarled traffic along South Road near Harvey Lane, Paget Parish.

Traffic was restricted to one lane while crews repaired the break, Police reported.

Police could not comment on whether heavy rainfalls may have contributed to the problem.

But Watlington Waterworks CEO Allan Rance yesterday told The Royal Gazette that he believed the main broke due to the "wear and tear'' it endured.

"I don't want to speculate, but we think they have broken due to the internal and external stress they endure,'' Mr. Rance said. "The two breaks were in the same vicinity, on the same main, but not in the same spot.'' Mr. Rance explained that when a break occurs on a main -- this one was laid in the early 1970s -- it will create stresses elsewhere.

"I'm not going to be naive, we will have another one in the future,'' he said."It's difficult to know what is going on underground.'' Mr. Rance said as part of Watlington Waterworks' ongoing maintenance, employees walk over the mains with sonar listen ing devices in an attempt pick up potential problems.

"We try to fix them before something happens,'' he stressed. "We are trying to find alternative ways to install or replace mains without hindering traffic.

"There are no quick answers. Unfortunately we can't wave a wand and it will be fixed by tomorrow.'' Finance Minister Grant Gibbons said Watlington Waterworks had met with Works and Engineering's Highways section several times to discuss ways of alleviating the problem.

They were considering replacing some of the older pipes with as little disruption to the motoring public as possible, he said.

Late last month, morning rush-hour traffic came to a grinding halt along Harbour Road when a Watlington Waterworks' pipe cracked, spewing water onto one of Bermuda's busiest roads.

The most recent break did not occur in the same spot, Police said.

WORKERS on Harbour Road, Saturday