LIVERMORE FALLS — Sewage was being pumped from one manhole to another Monday night to keep it from going into the Androscoggin River following the collapse of a sewer line on Depot Street in the downtown area.

A section of Main and Depot streets, also known as Route 17, was closed along with the sidewalks. Traffic was being detoured around the area.

“We got a broken sewer line but there are problems underneath it. A storm drain underneath the sewer pipe washed away all the fill and the sewer pipe collapsed,” Sewer Department Superintendent Greg Given said Monday night.

“We’re pumping sewage from one manhole to another so we don’t lose the sewage to the river,” he said.

Ted Berry Co. of Livermore, Jean Castonguay Logging and Excavation of Livermore Falls and Sewer Department crews remained on the scene Monday night to fix the pipe.

Maine Department of Transportation had put a patch over a hole in the road but the dirt started to sink, Given said.

Town Manager Stephen Gould said he reported a sinkhole in the road near Stretch-It body shop to the DOT last week, he said in a text.

“It wasn’t a hole but a depression that seemed to get worse,” he said.