Drivers headed westbound on the Long Island Expressway hit worse-than-usual rush hour traffic Friday morning as crews worked to repair a large sinkhole. The New York State Department of Transportation said that the sinkhole appears to have been caused by a contractor working on a local municipal sewage project.

The DOT said work began Thursday evening to install new asphalt pavement.

Th two right lanes at exit 49 were closed for hours, but around 7 a.m., a spokesperson for the Suffolk Police Department said the center lane was reopened. The right lane also reopened a few hours later.

The DOT said they plan on fully reopening the LIE some time today.