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The 12-inch break closed Chambers Street eastbound from West Street to West Broadway and westbound from Greenwich Street to West Broadway.

The Department of Environmental Protection said 40 customers on the south side of Chambers Street, both residential and commercial, were without water as a result.

Construction crews rushed to replace the broken main and restored water by 8 p.m. Another main break on Worth Street between West Broadway to Church Street was fixed by 10 p.m.

It was unclear Thursday what caused the 138-year-old main to fail. DEP said there was no construction going on in the area.

"First there was a noise and an eruption of some sort, and then the ground started to crack a little bit," said an onlooker of the initial flooding.

"There was water, water everywhere," said another.

"I just saw that there was a tremendous amount of water coming down the street at a great pace," said a third. "And the street buckled where they dug up."

Drivers were annoyed at the day's delays and detours.

"Well, we've been doing circles for about 20 minutes already," said a driver.

"Aggravated, annoyed. It's getting worse and worse," said another.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the M20 and the M22 buses were rerouted.