The city's Economic Development Corporation says a subcontractor doing preliminary investigation work related to the design of the upcoming East River Esplanade project "drilled a small perforation in the outer casing of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel," around 12:30 p.m.
"Water entered the southbound tunnel's roadway through ventilation ducts," a spokesperson for the EDC said. "We are working closely with City Hall, NYCEM, MTA, and other city agencies as we continue to respond."
MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Cathy Sheridan said the contractor drilled a roughly 2.5-inch hole into the cast iron liner above the exhaust duct, causing saltwater to leak into the tunnel.
"They were doing investigative drilling to determine geo-technical conditions in the river. This is an important part of the design process," said EDC Chief Infrastructure Officer Joshn Kraus.
The leak led to a temporary shutdown of both the north and south tubes as crews investigated the source of the leak, creating a traffic nightmare Wednesday afternoon.
MTA buses that normally use the tunnel had to be detoured and drivers were told to seek alternate routes. Officials also encouraged commuters to take mass transit and the New York City subway system.
The MTA first restored two-way traffic in the north tube around 3 p.m., then reopened the south tube a few hours later after a temporary plug was put in place. But while both tubes were back open before rush hour was over, backups took additional hours to clear, with only bicycles getting past the bottleneck on Second Avenue.
"It's been horrible. I've been in that intersection blocking it for three lights. It was so bad," said commuter Nick Sanchez.
The gridlock Wednesday night on Second Avenue in the East 30s and 40s resembled the type of traffic we could see during the United Nations General Assembly Week that begins next week.
Drivers were frustrated, bored, and barely moving.
"I've been over there for a half hour. Two blocks," said Marsha Duke, who was stuck in traffic.
As for the tunnel itself, officials say crews will come back and do a more permanent repair with the hopes that something like this won't happen again.
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