A 120-year-old water main in Times Square burst early Tuesday, spilling an estimated 1.8 million gallons of water into the subway, disrupting morning commutes, officials said.
New York City Transit President Richard Davey said at a press conference that a 20-inch water main broke just before 3 a.m. on Seventh Avenue between 43rd and 44th streets. The ensuing disruption of Routes 1, 2 and 3 affected an estimated 300,000 people on their morning commute.
By early morning, trains on these lines were running with delays in both directions, Mr Davie said.
“Of course, the main impact will be on the metro, because here the water main is above the metro station,” Environmental Protection Secretary Rohit Agarwala said early Tuesday.
Davey said the subway system is old and underground, which makes it prone to flooding, but he’s working with the New York City Department of Transportation and environmental protection to ensure that future water main breaks won’t affect rail service too much. He said the ministry should cooperate.
The crew are still investigating the cause of the damage, said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Several streets in downtown Midtown were closed to traffic due to repair work on water mains, but were reopened by mid-morning. Only the intersection of 40th Avenue and 7th Avenue remains closed, and is expected to remain closed for at least the rest of the day, according to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Davie said further subway repairs were needed and would be completed after hours, adding that rush hour commutes on Tuesday evening should not be affected.
