A water main break on the Upper West Side sent a massive torrent of water cascading into a New York City subway station Wednesday — causing two lines to come to a halt as the deluge flooded from the platform and cascaded onto the track.
Multiple lines were fully or partially suspended for hours as frustrated commuters faced massive delays finding their way home the day before Thanksgiving.
The MTA said a 12-inch city water main that dates back to 1951 ruptured around 1:40 p.m., also affecting surface streets on the Upper West Side. Drivers were forced to navigate around pools of water on the street near Central Park as FDNY and NYPD personnel directed traffic.
The water main break happened Wednesday afternoon. CitizenRaging water gushed into the 103rd Street and Central Park West station, according to social media footage. Several inches of water could be seen on the tracks in the aftermath, according to footage provided by the MTA.
Hundreds of transit workers worked through the afternoon into the evening rush hour to restore service at the station by manually clearing drains and gate valves, pumping water from the tracks and platform and clearing dirt and debris.
“The team did a really great job getting to the scene and assessing the conditions,” New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement.
“They worked with NYC-DEP to quickly isolate the area and shut down water from coming into the system.”
Service was restored around 6:30 p.m. at the 103rd Street station, the MTA said — but riders who faced the earlier delays were left exasperated.
The problem caused disruptions for drivers and straphangers. LP Media
Workers were trying to fix the problem into Wednesday evening. Citizen“When I first got here, there were cops and everything blocking the traffic,” commuter Alex Febles told CBS 2.
“I’m going to go home but obviously I can’t do that now.”
Another traveler just wanted to get back home to New Jersey.
“I tried to go down there, but they have it all yellow taped up,” Faranah McKoy, told the station.
“I would love to head home, because I am tired and I’m heading to Jersey. So my commute just started.”
Service remained suspended for the C line while the A and E lines were rerouted Wednesday night, according to the MTA’s Service Status page.
Commuters looking to take the B, D, F, M, N, Q, R and W lines were also facing delays.
