The Board of Mayor and Aldermen are expected to declare an emergency Wednesday and hire a contractor to fix a 100-year-old, 6-inch water line that broke at the corner of Bowmar and Letitia streets.

Declaring an emergency allows the city can hire a contractor without having to go through the bid process, which could take more than 30 days to hire someone to fix the line.

Public Works Director Garnet Van Norman said the break was reported Thursday. He said the line is located in the same area where contractors in 2013 replaced an 8-inch sewer line. He said no boil water notice has been issued pending the board’s action Wednesday. Currently, Bowmar Avenue is blocked from Drummond Street west to just past Letitia. Cars coming east from Washington Street are detoured south from Letitia.

Van Norman said the water line is located above the sewer line. He said the break was caused by dirt over the sewer line settling after the repair, causing the line to sag.

He said a contractor will be hired to do the work because the line is deeper than 10 feet and city employees do not have the proper equipment or training to work at 10 feet or deeper.

“We’re going to hire someone who does that kind of work and knows what they’re doing,” he said.

The problem with the sewer line was discovered early in 2013, and city officials declared an emergency to hire a contractor to repair the damage. When removed the pavement at the intersection, they found a 10-foot deep cavern where the soil under the street had been sucked away through the broken line.