UWS Water Main Break Delays Traffic, Train Service; 2nd in a Week

A water main break on the Upper West Side caused “extensive traffic delays” and disrupted train service on Sunday morning, officials said. 

The water main break happened at 103rd Street and Central Park West around 7:50 a.m., the MTA said.

Video from the scene showed a steady stream of water pouring into the C train station at 103rd Street. 

A, C and D train service was suspended for several hours between 59th Street-Columbus Circle and 125th Street because the water rose above the third rail, "making conditions dangerous to operate trains," the MTA said in a statement.

A, C and D service had resumed with delays as of around 12:30 p.m., according to the MTA. By 2 p.m., the water main had been repaired and water service had been restored, the city's Department of Environmental Protection said.

Central Park West was closed to traffic between West 97th and 102nd streets but reopened just before 4 p.m., the city said.

Following a prior closure, all lanes of Central Park West have reopened in both directions between West 97th Street and West 102nd Street in Manhattan. Expect residual delays. Multilingual & ASL Link: https://t.co/HuA8o4rqF7. https://t.co/9LuFvK5xlo

— NYCEM - Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) January 19, 2020

"New York City transit rapidly responded by deploying resources in the Infrastructure, Track and Signals Department, as well as pumping equipment and supplies to the scene," the MTA said in its statement.

DEP shut the water main off around 9 a.m., according to the MTA, which noted that it was "in the process of examining four stop machines, a substation at 99th Street and all third rail cables.

Sunday's water main break was the second this week to wreak havoc on the Upper West Side. On Monday, a break on Broadway leaked more than 500,000 gallons of water into the subway system and turned streets into a small pond.

"This is the second time this week our customers have been denied service for too lengthy a period because of a major city water main break that flooded our system," the agency said. "We hope this latest incident will spur quicker shut-off response times by the city and a review of its aging system in hopes of avoiding similar situations moving forward."