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Sinkhole Opens Up on West 10th Street Near Bleecker Street

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | May 3, 2013 10:31am | Updated on May 3, 2013 12:00pm

 A sinkhole appeared on West 10th Street between Bleecker and West 4th streets Friday morning, disrupting service along the M8 bus line, the MTA said.
A sinkhole appeared on West 10th Street between Bleecker and West 4th streets Friday morning, disrupting service along the M8 bus line, the MTA said.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

WEST VILLAGE — West 10th Street between Bleecker Street and West 4th Street had to be closed to traffic Friday after a sinkhole opened up in the middle of the road, officials said.

The hole appeared about 9:15 a.m. after a sewer line broke open underneath the roadway and spewed water that eroded the ground beneath it, a a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection said.

"I'm only about 5-feet-8 inches and I could easily jump in there and be gone," said Cynthia Spicer who works at Village Apothecary down the road.

Buses on the M8 line were rerouted around the sinkhole, according to the MTA website. Buses headed east on 10th as usual, but took a left on Hudson Street, a right onto West 12th Street, and another right onto Greenwich Avenue where they returned to normal routes.

"I'm not scared. It's New York — these things happen," Spicer added. "It's being monitored so it seems pretty safe."

Crews were on scene a short while after working to mend the hole, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection said. An "emergency contractor" was slated to have the street fully operational by nightfall, she added.

"Our crews are there right now making the area safe," the spokeswoman said.