A giant sinkhole that opened up Friday on Ness Avenue near Sturgeon Creek could turn into a blessing in disguise for local residents waiting for construction to begin on a new bridge.
“Jaw-dropping. Wow. It’s huge,” said Darka Smith as she saw the sinkhole while walking her dog. “This is the exact path I take and that is exactly where I walk.”
Brent Mackie’s home sits only metres from where the hole opened up and he actually heard the ground give way during Friday’s heavy rainstorm.
“I heard this kaboom!” said Mackie. “A great big explosion type thing. And I came out into the living room and that's when I noticed the sinkhole had expanded."
Sturgeon Creek regularly floods in the springtime, forcing the closure of the bridge.
Locals have come to expect it every year.
"The bridge has been in rough shape for a long time,” said Smith. “And being over a creek, this creek spills its banks almost every year and it gets quite high.”
The bridge is slated to be replaced and construction was supposed to begin in January.
City engineers and other staff will meet Tuesday to discuss the possibility of starting construction sooner because of the sinkhole.
“I think it should all be done at the same time,” said Mackie. “That’s just common sense, right?”
The closure caused by the sinkhole has given people living on nearby streets a preview of what they can expect traffic to be like during the year it will take to build the new bridge.
Barny Haines lives on nearby Kirby Street and says he’s seen many drivers looking confused and lost, and others driving faster than he would like.
"Before we had next to no traffic and kids would play on the streets, no problem, hockey, whatever,” said Haines. “And now with all this traffic, it's worrisome."
The city says a comprehensive traffic plan will be put in place during construction and will include appropriate detours for commuters and city buses.
