Monday, September 19th, 2011

Well here’s something you don’t see every day — Central Park West and surrounding streets temporarily turned into a river earlier today. The culprit was a massive, 30-inch, nearly 100-year-old, water main break. Service on the A/B/C/D subway lines is completely screwed up as a result.

UPDATE 9/20: Videos & photos galore of the water main break and ensuing commute chaos

UPDATE 7:30 pm: A/B/C/D subways still crippled; 1/2/3 lines packed as people try and head home

DNAinfo has full details on the incident, which occurred in the vicinity of Central Park West & 106th earlier today. The 110th Street B/C station was closed down when it was “hit with an 8-foot wave of water that swept downhill into the station.” (Video above courtesy of DNAinfo/David Torres)

The DEP managed to shut off the water flow by 12:15 pm, but not before onlookers got an eyeful. Per DNA:

“It was an amazing scene,” said Jean Carlos Valentin, 19, who lives on 107th Street at Central Park West.

“I heard a big splash, it was like a waterfall.”

The water flowed into basements, pushing garbage and chunks of broken  road in its wake. Witnesses said a parked motorcycle was toppled.

DNA has a great photo gallery that’s definitely worth checking out. If you prefer to get your news by video, NY1 had a reporter at the scene.

If you’ve been at work minding your own business and planned on taking the A/B/C/D home, definitely check MTA.info for service updates — those lines are still experiencing issues.

UPDATE 4:55 pm: NYT City Room has some subway service updates:

There are headaches galore in store for subway commuters Monday evening, with the B and C subway lines still out of service after a morning water main break on Central Park West and the A and D lines also knocked out in much of Manhattan.

The D train is suspended between West 34th Street in Manhattan and 161st Street in the Bronx as of 4:30 p.m., and the A is suspended between Columbus Circle and 168th Street, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.

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Tags: 106, burst, Central Park West, commute, DEP, FDNY, flood, flooding, mass transit, MTA, New York City, NYC, Photos, Subway, Upper West Side, UWS, Video, Water Main Break