Water rushed down South Hamilton Drive near La Cienega Boulevard on Aug. 21 as crews worked to locate and repair the pipe. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

After a water main below the surface of the 100-200 block of South Hamilton Drive burst on the morning of Aug. 21, the city of Beverly Hills said this week that Metro construction accidentally caused the leak.

“The cause of the leak was a [Metro] construction defect and the city is working with Metro’s contractor to resolve the issue so it does not occur in the future,” Beverly Hills Public Information Manager Lauren Santillana said.

The leak caused water to inundate South Hamilton Drive for approximately two hours. Residents rushed to their cars to relocate them as water reached as far as some ground-floor entryways. Crews from the Beverly Hills Department of Public Works and Metro arrived on the scene quickly to locate the leak. BHPD traffic officers shut down the street between Wilshire Boulevard and Gregory Way as crews stopped the leak and excavated a large portion of the street to make a repair.

“While working to restore utilities at the future Wilshire/La Cienega Station on the first section of Metro’s D Line Subway Extension Project, a contractor reported a waterline leak while tying in the existing waterline to the newly constructed waterline,” Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said. “The construction team was successful in resolving the issue by using multiple pumps to divert water into the city of Beverly Hills’ storm drain system. There was no threat to public safety or other station construction impacts as a result of this incident.”

Nearby, Metro continued work on the Wilshire/La Cienega subway station, as part of the D Line Extension Project. The contractor for the portion of the project is Skanska-Traylor-Shea, a Joint Venture. The station is expected to open in late 2025.