Subway reopens and street repairs are carried out after a major water main break flooded Times Square

NEW YORK — A 127-year-old water pipe times square gave way early Tuesday morning, flooding City center streets and the busiest metro station in the city.

The MTA says about 300,000 customers use the 1, 2 and 3 lines on a typical morning rush hour, which gives an idea of ​​how many people were affected.

It is believed that 1.8 million gallons of water entered the system and it took around 90 minutes to shut that water off.

He 20 inch main break around 3 a.m.

“The water pipe is here on top of the metro station,” said the commissioner of the city’s Environmental Protection Department, Rohit Aggarwala, showing the location.

See the MTA service update

Lines 1, 2, and 3 were shut down as the water moved south to its lowest point. Transit officials said the 23rd and 14th Street subway stations experienced problems as a result.

On the surface, the bubbling rupture closed off part of Seventh Avenue near where it occurred at 40th Street.

READ MORE: Bursting water main floods homes and brings down a brick wall in Morris Heights

Rob Revett, who was staying at a hotel directly opposite the disaster, took a picture and described what he saw.

“We heard a big bang, and I looked out the window and there was water coming out,” Revett said.

“The water main is from 1896. It’s a 20-inch main, so it’s quite large and high-pressure,” Aggarwala said. “The original design and maintenance of this system is more important than age.”

By mid-morning, metro service had been restored with residual delays after crews pumped out water.

“This is typically a busier week for us, so we should have been able to handle capacity. I haven’t heard of crowding issues, per se, on other lines, but if this were two weeks from now, I’d when on a Tuesday after Labor Day we certainly would have faced greater challenges,” said New York City Transit Chairman Richard Davey.

In the early afternoon, the service seemed normal. Some riders said they had no idea there had been a problem.

See Alice Gainer’s report

Nearly 20 hours after the water main burst, barricades were still up to keep foot traffic away from the job site at 40th Street and Seventh Avenue.

Crews continued to work on the leak while roads remained closed.

“Just make it so people can move around,” said one person from Cincinnati.

“It seems like it’s a lot more than they thought it would be because it’s a lot more chaotic, so I hope they get it done soon,” said Sorority Quintanilla, a Midtown resident.

“People have to work all night, others have to walk around, the traffic is bad, but it’s fine for me,” said Fred Zchum of Germany.

As for water, many of the buildings in the area have what are called redundant water systems, so only one or two were left without service. That service has since been restored.

The Department of Environmental Protection plans to open a traffic lane on Seventh Avenue overnight. Work is expected to continue on Wednesday.