Turnpike spokesman Joe Orlando says the sinkhole appeared a mile south of exit 8 on Saturday morning, but it's still not clear what caused it.
The sinkhole, which took about six hours to repair, was 2 feet by 3 feet and forced the closure of the right lane going southbound. But Orlando said the highway's center lane "was not compromised" as initially feared, adding that the repairs were completed around 5:30 p.m.
Southbound delays of up to 12 miles were reported during the day, but Orlando said the backups started to ease when the closed lane was reopened.
