Saugus water main break ties up Route 1

SAUGUS-A Route 1 north water main break near Hess gas station raised serious concerns after it was discovered an unmarked high-pressure gas main was sitting on top of the broken line.Department of Public Works Superintendent Joseph Attubato said he has calls into the gas company but has yet to receive an answer as to how an unmarked gas line ended up on top of his ancient water line.The call for the water break, which backed up traffic to Revere, came in around 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Attubato said it took crews about 10 hours to wrap up the work.He also said when crews dug up the 6-inch cast iron waterline they were shocked to find the 2-inch high-pressure gas line in their way.”It’s a good thing they dug slowly,” he said. “They could have hit that thing. The markings for the line were not correct. There were no markings.”Attubato said he is anxious to learn where the rest of the gas line sits so there aren’t any future incidents.The water break marked the first for the town in 2008 but the 20th for the fiscal year. Attubato said the number is slowing down some as water lines are being replaced.This particular break would likely cost the town around $9,000, Attubato said. The repairs, he added, were handled in-house but there were ancillary costs to take into account.”We have to pay to get the flasher board up and to bring people from Mass. Highway out,” he said. “It all figures into the cost.”