Crews with the New York State Department of Transportation have been working to fix the collapse at the Farragut Avenue exit since Sunday evening. In a statement, NYSDOT says the sinkhole was likely caused by this weekend's heavy rainfall, and the deterioration of a 12-inch drainage pipe underneath the roadway.
The closure snarled traffic for those commuting south to New York City Monday morning. NYSDOT says the average annual daily traffic by that exit is 47,000 vehicles.
Westchester County Police say southbound traffic is being diverted off the parkway at the exit to I-87, I-287, State Route 119 in Elmsford. Speaking at a press conference Monday afternoon, Democratic County Executive Ken Jenkins recommended southbound drivers avoid the parkway and factor the traffic into their commutes.
"I know that on the way up to White Plains this morning, we saw a bunch of the southbound traffic on the Sprain Brook Parkway, which would be one of the places people would divert you between I-87 and Major Deegan going southbound," said Jenkins. "The folks on 9A were really heavily impacted as far as the traffic that's going on off the on the Saw Mill River Parkway. Once again, govern yourselves accordingly, because there is a significant impact on traffic. But more importantly, safety should come first."
While NYSDOT expects to reopen the lanes later Monday evening, Westchester County Police say the closure could continue through Tuesday morning's rush hour commute. All northbound lanes of the parkway are open.
