The City of Windsor hopes to finish repairs on a sinkhole that opened up in a downtown intersection by the end of the day on Thursday. However, City Engineer Mark Winterton warns drivers it could be Friday before Church Street at University Avenue West reopens.
The sinkhole opened on Monday, shutting down streets within a one-block radius.
"It appears to have been a catch basin pipe that had collapsed, and with the big rain, it created a cavern," explained Winterton. "Because the pavement structure on University is fairly thick, it was able to bridge for quite a while. At a certain point, it just exceeds the point that it can span and creates a sinkhole."
Winterton said it's not unusual for a catch basin to fail, but someone normally reports the excess water to 311, and the city can quickly fix it.
"We came across an old cast iron water main, and it's kind of brittle, so we want to make sure to take care of that," Winterton said, detailing the repairs. "We're repairing the catch basin leads, the storm pipes that go into the main line, and we also have to make sure our other utilities, the Bell and the gas lines [are repaired.]"
The city dug up the entire intersection, but businesses around Church Street and University Avenue West are open.
Winterton said the city tries to be proactive, but there are thousands of kilometres of infrastructure under Windsor, and it can take years to inspect the network with CCTV cameras.
The city will notify drivers on Thursday if the repairs take longer than expected.
