Crime & Safety
Chelsea Water Main Break Snarls L Train Service
The break at Seventh Avenue and 14th Street sent water pouring into the subway tunnel.
CHELSEA, NY — A broken water main in Chelsea disrupted water service and snarled L train commutes Wednesday morning. The break in the 20-inch main on Seventh Avenue between 14th and 15th streets was reported sometime after 5 a.m., Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Douglas Auer said.
The street-level break sent water pouring into the subway tunnel below and halted L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn for nearly two hours, according to New York City Transit alerts.
It also closed down a three-block stretch of Seventh Avenue and two blocks of 15th Street, the NYPD said. And water had to be shut off in some places along Seventh Avenue and 15th Street, the DEP said.
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The flooding submerged many signals, switches and motors in the subway tunnel, NYC Transit said. The agency said it aims to restore full service on the L line by the afternoon rush hour as crews clear debris from the tracks and install new stop motors where needed.
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L service resumed around 7:50 a.m., with westbound trains ending at Union Square, NYC Transit said. Manhattan-bound trains were running about every six minutes as of about 8:50 a.m.
Water service was shut off from the east side of Seventh Avenue between 14th and 16th streets and on 15th Street from Sixth Avenue to Seventh Avenue, the DEP said.
Update: Water service was restored on 15th Street as of about 4:10 p.m., Auer said. Work was continuing to repair the main and bring service back to a building at the corner of 14th Street and Seventh Avenue with about 450 residents, he said.
The western lanes of Seventh Avenue were being resurfaced and were due to reopen by Wednesday evening, Auer said.
Here's a video we took of the broken water main earlier this morning. Water is no longer pouring into the tunnel, but many of our switches, motors and signals are submerged. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/vX5Db0PaFH
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) January 23, 2019
This AM, there was water main break at 7th Ave & 15th St in Manhattan. Water is shut off from the east side of 7th Ave, b/t 14th and 16th Sts, and at 15th St from 7th to 6th Aves. Water likely won’t be restored until late tonight. pic.twitter.com/QILhUMTB5p
— NYC Water (@NYCWater) January 23, 2019
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when water service would be restored. The DEP expects that it will not be restored until late Wednesday night, not late Thursday night.
(Lead image: Photo from New York City Transit/Twitter)
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