Interstate 80 in Wharton had to be shut down on Monday at the same spot where a massive sinkhole was found in late December.

Officials say this time there was a depression discovered in the eastbound section of the highway which needs to be repaired before driving is allowed to resume.

State police found the defect in the roadway around 6:45 a.m. as the morning commute was kicking into gear.

State Sen. Anthony Bucco was at the scene speaking with New Jersey Department of Transportation staff about the issue.

“As a result of the water table, it looks like some of the sand and gravel in there has shifted a little bit so that caused a depression,” Bucco said.

RELATED: Sinkhole prompts lane closures on Interstate 80 in Wharton

Bucco has been told crews will dig into the ground and fill and repair where needed to make sure the road is once again stable. Bucco has been told that work should be done Monday night and completed in time for the Tuesday morning rush.

This spot is the same area as where a 40-foot by 40-foot sinkhole formed in late December. It was eventually revealed that this portion of the road sits on top of an abandoned iron mine and needs to be filled.

The Monday morning road closure caused a major traffic jam for commuters.

One of those stuck in her car was Mia Onufrak who was trying to get from Roxbury to Rockaway.

“It was standstill traffic,” Onufrak said. “Usually it’s less than a 15-minute commute and it took me over two hours to get to work.”

Along with that bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-80, there had been residual traffic on North Main Street in Wharton. Those already on the road were detoured at Exit 34 for Wharton.

Anyone who gets on I-80 East is urged to get off the highway at Exit 28 and take Route 46 eastbound or Route 10.

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