A water main break left many businesses in Cumming without water for a few hours Wednesday afternoon.

Jon Heard, director of Cumming Utilities, said crews working on road improvements near the intersection of Buford Dam Road and Hwy. 9 hit the water main.

“As they were excavating, they hit a water service line near Herbert Automotive,” said Heard, noting the incident occurred about 12:30 p.m.

“Doing this type of [road] work is like threading a needle,” Heard said. “They try their best not to hit something, but sometimes that just happens.”

Repair crews were immediately sent to the area, he said.

The repairs were expected to be complete and water service fully restored to the “about 25 or 30 businesses” affected by about 5 p.m.

The road project involves widening and adding sidewalks to Buford Dam Road from Sanders Road to Hwy. 9.

It is on track to be completed by late September.