NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A water main break in Chelsea shut down L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn and snarled traffic for hours Wednesday as crews worked to fix a flooded subway tunnel.
Service was fully restored on the line shorly after noon -- about six hours after the water main break shut down service between the Eighth Avenue and Bedford Avenue stations, and a few hours after service was partially restored from Brooklyn to the Union Square station.
The water main erupted near Seventh Avenue and 14th Street shortly before dawn.
Surrounding streets were closed and salt trucks were put to use as crews worked to cap the water main amid freezing temperatures shortly after 6 a.m.
The water main break flooded the subway tunnel between Union Square and Eighth Avenue, NYC Transit President Andy Byford said.
Byford said there was damage to L train equipment but that they were able to extend service to Union Square as crews repaired the submerged equipment.
"It was water pouring through the sidewalk vents, pouring down the stairs of the station into the subway," Byford said.
Meanwhile, Seventh Avenue was buckled from the water main break Wednesday morning, with a stretch of streets closed to traffic.
Crews on scene were busy repairing as 300 customers and 10 businesses went without water.
One deli owned said his business was down 95 percent Wednesday morning.
"It will affect very adversely business today, hopefully not tomorrow," he told 1010 WINS' Samantha Liebman.
