A water main break in Times Square flooded Midtown Manhattan streets early on Tuesday and disrupted service on major subway lines, upending the morning commute.

The 20-inch water main gave way just before 3 a.m. on Seventh Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, the police said, sending water pouring into the subway system below.

There is no service on the 1 or 3 trains between 96th Street and Chambers Street, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The 2 train is running on the 5 line with disruptions.

The affected trains are likely to resume service later on Tuesday, the police said.

“The main impact, of course, has been on the subways, because the water main is above the subway station here,” Rohit Aggarwala, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, said at a news conference. “So for that hour and a half or so when the water was running, the water was running into the subway station.”

As of 9:45 a.m., several streets in the heart of Midtown that had been closed as crews worked to repair the water main had reopened. Only the intersection of 40th Street and 7th Avenue remained closed, according to the Department of Environmental Protection, and the intersection was expected to remain closed for at least the rest of the day.

Most buildings in the area still have water service, Mr. Aggarwala said.

Crews were still investigating what could have caused the break, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection said.

Erin Nolan is a reporter for the Metro desk and a member of the 2023-2024 New York Times Fellowship class. More about Erin Nolan

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