About 24 homes in the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Louisiana and Mississippi Streets were without water service Tuesday afternoon and evening after a private contractor working on 19th Street west of Louisiana Street drilled into a water main.

The incident forced the city to divert traffic as it worked to repair the problem, which was expected to be fixed by late Tuesday evening. The pavement also buckled at two points, so that had to be fixed, according to Lisa Patterson, city communication coordinator.

When the accident occurred, the contractor was relocating private utilities in preparation for improvements to the intersection of 19th and Louisiana streets, which are expected to begin in June.