A water main break on a heavily traveled street in Tamaqua today caused headaches for northbound motorists.

Just in time for this morning's commute, Tamaqua Borough Water Authority officials were in the unit block of Mauch Chunk as water began bubbling to the surface, creating a small pond on the already icy street. Traffic was re-routed along East Broad to Pine Street, resulting in traffic jams until Tamaqua Fire Police arrived to direct traffic.Once fire police arrived, they were stationed at Broad and Mauch Chunk streets, Broad and Pine streets and Mauch Chunk and Pine streets,Tamaqua Public Works director Rob Jones told the TIMES NEWS he couldn't give a time estimate for repairs, as borough workers had to wait for Verizon "to come and mark their lines before we can even begin to make repairs."By 9 a.m., workers were beginning the process of clearing away the street surface. Once Verizon marks its lines, Jones said, "Our workers can then begin making repairs."At press time, Jones said he didn't know if water would be shut off to the homes and businesses located in the area.If the water does have to be shut off, it will only affect the properties in the triangular area fronted by East Broad, Mauch Chunk and Pine streets, according to Jones. The borough would make calls through its automatic call system if that happens, Jones said.