A busy bypass was closed yesterday after a water main burst and caused a sinkhole, leaving homes without water.
Bottled water was delivered to 18 properties that were affected after a water main burst on the Hythe Bypass at Applemore Hill.
This resulted in a road closure between Dibden roundabout and Sizer Way roundabout, where Southern Water engineers dug further down to make repairs.
Water could be seen gushing down the hill yesterday morning, eventually pooling on Sizer Way.
At the time of print, Southern Water confirmed to the Echo that engineers were "still working on repairing the burst main".
READ MORE: Hythe Bypass: 'Sinkhole' opens as homes without water - live
But earlier in the day, a spokesperson for the utility company said they were unsure how long the fix would take.
The utility company confirmed that the burst created a "void" in the road which was cordoned off as soon as engineers arrived.
Councillor Nick Adams-King, leader of Hampshire County Council, said: "Clearly this will cause significant disruption around Hythe and Dibden, please allow extra time for your journey as a result."
Karen Taylor's video showed water gushing down the road and pooling at Sizer Way. (Image: Karen Taylor) The nearby Waves Hand Car Wash on Sizer Way was not affected by the water outage, a spokesperson for the car wash told the Echo, but an official diversion route took drivers away from the establishment.
Southern Water's official diversion was a 4.5 mile detour to get around the 0.7 mile closed stretch of Hythe Bypass.
From Main Road, the diversion takes drivers east to Southampton Road, and then south to Langdown Lawn and Beaulieu Road.
READ MORE: Traffic grinds to halt after crash near sinkhole diversion route
A left on Beaulieu Road will then take those drivers onto Hythe Bypass, where vehicles can continue with their journeys.
The latest update from Southern Water said: "We have detected a burst main on Hythe Bypass, A326, Applemore Hill causing a small number of households to lose supply. Bottled water is currently being delivered to those affected.
"To fix the main, Highways management have instructed us to close the road between Dibden roundabout and Sizer way roundabout at 10:30am [yesterday].
Sue Knight's photo of sand on the road where water had previously been gushing. (Image: Sue Knight) "This is for health and safety reasons.
"We are unsure how long the fix will take at this stage but aim to sort the issue as quickly as possible.
"We're very sorry for any inconvenience caused."
Traffic ground to a halt on the diversion route after a crash on nearby Claypits Lane.
Officers were alerted to two cars colliding on Claypits Lane at 3.24pm, and Hampshire police confirmed there had been no injuries.
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