A routine repair of a water main break in Middletown became an hours-long project after the repair crew hit a gas service line.

Middletown Public Works crews told News 12 it is not terribly unusual for once-hidden problems in or near the 160-year-old water infrastructure system to pop up, especially during intense cold snaps.

Middletown Water Department crews responded to East Avenue Wednesday for what they expected to be a standard repair to a broken 4-inch water main.

After breaking through asphalt, concrete and a layer of frozen dirt, a crew nicked a gas line with an excavator, creating a bang that startled some workers on scene.

The mud around the water main began to bubble from gas being released underneath, emitting a faint odor.

A contractor apparently mismarked the gas service line by more than a foot, leading to the minor gas leak.

Middletown DPW Commissioner Jacob Tawil told News 12 Wednesday his team would not postpone the work because of the above-ground safety issues created by the leak.

"It's a very small leak. It's causing icing on the road," Tawil said, "so we're attending to it right away to repair it."

Local utilities were not affected, though a section of East Avenue near downtown was closed for several hours.

Tawil said the city spends several million dollars in state and federal grants each year to maintain the system's primary lines. He said it is not an option to replace all 75 miles of the city's water mains all at once.

"They're in the ground and they get older everyday," he said. "We're just going to stay on top of it."

Members of the DPW team said they anticipate more water main breaks once temperatures rise above freezing, which will allow the ground the thaw, shift and lean on underground infrastructure.

The East Avenue water main was repaired a few hours later.