Homes without water after line break

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Water utility crews have a mess on their hands.
    
A broken water line in a northeast Albuquerque neighborhood has left homes without water and some residents with limited access to their homes.
    
A 16-inch water line with a big break here on Marquette, near Tramway and Copper northeast.
         
It happened shortly after 6 a.m.
    
According to the Water Utility Authority, about 80 homes in this area are currently without water.
    
The break also caused extensive damage to the roadway, which means some residents only have pedestrian access to their homes.
    
Officials say the water line was likely more than 40 years old, so the aging infrastructure has a lot to do with the break.
    
Workers plan on working for awhile Thursday.

“It’s probably going to be several hours at least while repairs are completed to the pipe itself,” David Morris with the Water Utility authority said. “So we're working obviously as quickly as possible to get that done so that we can get those people back into water."

There is now an emergency water station set up near Lomas and Stutz.
    
Affected residents can go there to get drinking water.

“I’m going to get some five gallon containers and go to a friend of mine's house who lives about a mile north of here and fill it up with water from his hose,” Walt Kirsch said.
   
Officials expect to have water back on by the end of the day Thursday.
    
As far as road repair, that could take could take several days.