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.

The Long Island Expressway was fully reopened by Friday afternoon.

Residents are worried more sinkholes could appear, especially after seeing the construction work on this part of the LIE.

“They’ve got a crane here working. There's a crane on the other side working, and they've opened access to this. Somehow that wasn't braced properly, and it caved in,” said one resident.

This sinkhole is not the first one Long Island has seen over the past few years.

Te Pei, an assistant professor of Civil Engineering at Stony Brook, says because Long Island is so densely populated, it’s common to run pipelines and utilities under the highways. But one little crack can cause major erosion.

“The ground surface may look intact, like nothing happens,” Pei said. “But actually below it, it already formed a cavity.”

Over time, the impact of traffic can cause the cavity to collapse, but Pei says these incidents can be prevented through maintenance and inspections.

“We can use this ground penetrating radar to identify the cavities below the ground and the loose soils or weak spots,” Pei said.

State Sen. Mario Mattera released the following statement:

”First, I am incredibly relieved that the driver is safe after this scary incident. Passing the scene on my way from Albany, I was extremely appreciative of the swift response from our first responders, the Suffolk County Police Department, and the NYSDOT union members who secured the area and kept traffic moving.

This situation underscores the fact that New York State must prioritize maintaining Long Island’s infrastructure. Our residents pay for these highways and they deserve to know they are safe and smooth.

To ensure that our roads are properly maintained and improved, Long Island must receive its fair share of state highway funding. Three years ago, Long Island legislators had to fight to access the needed funding for repaving roadways in our area and that must change.

New York state has a responsibility to stop treating Long Islanders like an ATM for New York City so our dedicated NYSDOT crews have the resources they need to utilize their efforts to keep our roads in the shape our residents deserve.”