Parts of Interstate 80 eastbound are closed in Wharton until further notice due to a new sinkhole.

The new sinkhole opened along the interstate while repairs were ongoing to correct a depression found in the road on Monday. This new sinkhole takes up the width of the center lane along I-80 in the area.

State Department of Transportation crews are using radar to examine the soil within that hole and in the surrounding ground on which the interstate sits.

The closure was a surprise to commuters, who thought for sure the road would be open for the trip to work Tuesday morning. Dave Etro lives in Sparta and usually has a 15-minute drive to work. On Tuesday, it took him an hour and 10 minutes because of the road closure.

“I was late to work," he says. “I saw the backup I tried to take side roads, completely congested with all the other traffic coming west.”

Cars traveling along I-80 East are being diverted onto North Main Street in Wharton and Route 15. Both have been jammed throughout the day.

This is not the same sinkhole that was found in December which was related to an abandoned mine. This hole is about 75 away from that spot and was first found as a depression on Monday. But as it was being repaired, the road gave way.

Bill Kroth is a geotechnical engineer who is familiar with the abandoned mines that are littered throughout Morris County.

“You have to take a biopsy, so to speak, of the soil underneath, looking for voids, looking for weak soils. And then you make your repair from that area," he says about the work needed to be done by the Department of Transportation.

Kroth says the failure could be related to recent earthquakes in northern New Jersey or drought or simply the nearby abandoned mine which was filled under 80 nearly two months ago.

“They placed incredible amounts of concrete they pumped it into the void hoping to choke off or bridge the void. Then you can put soil on top of it and hopeful that bridge last for years," he says.

But until that’s done, I-80 will be closed in Wharton.

“Crews will continue to work 24 hours a day until the repairs are complete," says DOT Commissioner Fran O'Connor.

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Variable message signs will provide advance notification to motorists of traffic pattern changes associated with the work.