UPPER WEST SIDE — Traffic was diverted around a sinkhole that opened up on Amsterdam Avenue near West 70th Street Thursday afternoon, the FDNY said.
Fire officials received a call about the sinkhole just after 3 p.m. A fire truck with Ladder 35, based on West 66th Street, was traveling north on Amsterdam Avenue when firefighters also spotted it, they said.
The lane was closed off to divert traffic around the hole, though vehicles could still move through the intersection.
"It's probably a water main break," a fire official told DNAinfo New York Thursday, adding that when water erodes dirt, it caves in, causing a sinkhole.
Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Christopher Gilbride said Friday that the sinkhole opened up due to a 12-inch water main break. The main was installed in 1969.
DEP officials had to shut down two valves and a fire hydrant while they worked to fix the main, he said. It was repaired by 9 p.m.