Huge Canadian sinkhole destroys four-lane road, swallows car
Fri, Jun 10 2016
All traffic save for buses and taxis had already been banned from the area due to excavation for a light rail station, but a Chrysler minivan parked along Rideau street fell into the hole as it expanded. Construction workers working in the light rail site evacuated safely once the road began collapsing, and no injuries were reported.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson told The Guardian that there was no sure way to tell how long repairs to Rideau Street would take.
"It's a significant sinkhole in the downtown core. It has a major impact on our largest retail shopping center, one of our major hotels as well as one of the busiest intersections and bus routes."
This is the second sinkhole to appear in downtown Ottawa in recent years. In 2014, a nearly thirty-foot wide sinkhole caused by excavation for the light rail system opened just a few blocks away from Rideau and Sussex. Watson stated that it is too soon to say whether or not Wednesday's sink hole was related to light rail construction.
"We can't confirm whether the tunnel had any impact on the sinkhole or whether it was a water main break or whether it was a leak of some type that destabilized the soil." Watson went on to say that he hoped that city officials would be able to pinpoint the exact cause of the collapse soon.
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By Jason Marker
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