A water main break near South Station around midnight Friday forced the closure of several streets and snarled traffic during the morning commute, officials said.
The 16-inch line, buried under the sidewalk, failed around midnight and has since been shut off, said Dolores Randolph, a spokeswoman for the city’s water and sewer commission.
Service to surrounding buildings has not been interrupted and the commission said it will postpone repair work until Saturday so roads in the area can reopen Friday.
The broken main affected parts of Summer, Federal, Congress and Purchase streets, officials said.
Images from several news outlets showed flooded streets in the area.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.