Another sinkhole opened along a major New Jersey interstate Monday morning, forcing state officials to close the road’s eastbound lanes — just two months after another sinkhole shuttered it at nearly the same spot.
The state Department of Transportation closed Interstate 80 in Wharton after reports of a depression in the center lane at about 6:45 a.m. Monday, according to NJ.com.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the highway was closed and detoured at Exit 34 in Wharton which goes to Route 15,” a department spokesperson told the outlet.
Officials are trying to figure out if it’s the second coming of the mammoth, 40-foot-deep sinkhole that opened on the side of the road in December, closing the same lanes for nearly four days.
The department later figured out that a collapsed mineshaft created that crater — which is relatively unsurprising, given the tremendous number of abandoned iron mines that dot the Garden State.
“The underground is basically Swiss cheese,” William Kroth, executive director of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, told PIX11 at the time.
But officials wouldn’t say that the same problems created the new sinkhole.
“It’s too early to speculate on the cause of the depression,” transportation officials told CBS News.
The new depression is only about 5 inches deep, the outlet said. But crews will stabilize the pavement and make repairs regardless.
In the meantime, officials closed I-80 at Exit 34 — which backed up traffic for eight miles during the Monday morning rush hour.
It’ll stay closed until further notice.
