Section of Yonge St. in downtown Toronto closed due to water main break

A section of downtown Toronto has been shut down following an overnight water main break.

All southbound lanes of Yonge Street between King and Wellington streets have been closed since the break was reported to Toronto Water around 2:15 a.m.

The Melinda Street exit at the King subway station is also closed.

City crews managed to turn off the water and locate the affected water main but director of distribution and collection Bill Shea said the issue could take up to 12 hours to fix and would not be resolved before afternoon rush hour.

“It is a larger main, a 12-inch main, and that is generally a more difficult repair,” Shea said, adding that crews aren’t even sure what the break looks like yet.

Motorists are being told to avoid the area.

“This would be an example of something that we are planning on upgrading, the city is planning on spending about $1.2 billion over the next 10 years to replace or repair these water mains,” Shea said.

WATCH: Southbound Yonge Street in downtown Toronto still closed for watermain repair. Mark Carcasole reports.

1:59 Southbound Yonge Street in downtown Toronto still closed for watermain repair

He said the more-than-100-year-old broken water main is made up of cast iron pipe, which is generally “very thick” and “can last a really long time” but is also quite brittle and could crack if the ground shifts.

Croissant Express Cafe owner Nancy Xi told Global News she was shocked Thursday morning when she saw water running along the road outside the cafe. She said it was an even bigger shock when after 10 a.m., the cafe had no running water.

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“That really affects our business and our customers were very sad because there was nothing for coffee, for which they come every day,” Xi said, adding the lack of running water cost the cafe a lot of money. “It’s a business area, so office people have coffee every day.”

Xi said if the water isn’t turned on by Friday morning, she will be forced to close the cafe, which would account for even more lost revenue.