A mural of rushing water just outside Hale'iwa seemed an appropriate scene-setter yesterday for crews working to repair a broken water main that shut down part of Kamehameha Highway. jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

The break occurred at 2:44 a.m. yesterday on the highway near Ali'i Beach Park.

Westbound traffic trying to enter Hale'iwa was rerouted along the Joseph P. Leong Highway bypass to the entrance west of town, two miles away.

Customers from Hale'iwa to Turtle Bay had been asked to conserve water yesterday until repairs were finished. No one was without water yesterday, but pressure was low.

"We were able to restore water service by 10 p.m. but it took a while to build up pressure," Burgo said. "We were off the road by 4:30 this morning."

The cause of the break was unknown but the pipe was 40 years old, Burgo said.

The road closure yesterday startled Hale'iwa motorists trying to leave the east end of town and found themselves forced to turn around at the road block next to the park.

"It's just an inconvenience right now," said Honolulu police officer Brian Bascar, stationed at the east bypass intersection to ward off the occasional stray vehicle trying to turn into Hale'iwa.

Anyone making it past Bascar yesterday would have encountered a 16- by 32-foot hole in the pavement that was 8 feet deep.

Water board repair crew supervisor Marc Nobriga said water running beneath the highway after the main broke had compromised the integrity of the pavement.

Crew foreman Kenneth Ahana said that after the main was fixed, workers would fill the hole and lay a temporary patch over it that would withstand traffic.