A massive sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway shut down traffic and nearly swallowed a car whole Thursday, forcing the closure of two lanes just before rush hour, police said.

The 8-foot-deep and 10-foot-wide hole suddenly opened up on the westbound lanes of the expressway near Exit 49 in Melville just after 1 p.m., according to Suffolk County cops.
Aerial view of emergency personnel responding to a sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway in Melville.A massive sinkhole on the Long Island Expressway near Exit 49 in Melville caused traffic to shut down just before rush hour, police said.NBC New York
A car partially swallowed by a sinkhole on a highway with emergency vehicles nearby.Suffolk County police said the 8-foot-deep, 10-foot-wide sinkhole emerged just after 1 p.m.Suffolk County Police Department¿
One person’s car almost ended up in the abyss and “partially entered the hole,” police said, but nobody was injured.

Photos from the scene show the car’s entire lower front half engulfed in the hole, with its bumper just hitting the edge — enough to keep the car from fully falling inside, footage from News 12 shows.

The two-lane shutdown is expected to last at least 24 hours as crews rush to clean up the mess and repair the road, officials said.

“At this moment, the right and center lanes are closed, while the left and HOV lanes are open. Motorists should consider alternate routes,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said Thursday evening.

“Highway crews are on the scene conducting emergency pavement repairs with the goal of having all lanes reopened as promptly and safely as possible,” the department added.