According to St. Charles Coun. Shawn Dobson, city crews will fill a large sinkhole on Ness Avenue now and will wait until January to begin previously planned work to replace a nearby bridge across Sturgeon Creek.
After the large sinkhole opened up on Friday, people living in the area said they hoped the city would take the opportunity to begin the replacement of the bridge early.
Ness Avenue will remain closed between School Road and Valley View Drive until the sinkhole has been filled.
In the meantime, Winnipeg Transit buses that normally cross Sturgeon Creek along Ness Avenue have been rerouted south along School Road and Sturgeon Road to Portage Avenue.
Over the Labour Day weekend and until early Tuesday afternoon, the buses had been rerouted north to Hamilton Avenue using Wharton Boulevard and Valley View Drive, a pair of quiet residential streets without sidewalks.
People living on Valley View Drive were quite vocal Tuesday about their opposition to buses on their normally quiet street and one person even erected a sign directing drivers to slow down.
Coun. Dobson said he received numerous calls and emails about the bus detours and spoke to Winnipeg Transit about having them diverted using streets with sidewalks.
The change was made shortly after 1:00 p.m. Tuesday.
People living on Valley View Drive are still unhappy with the increased number of private vehicles using the street as a detour.
"Repairs related to the sinkhole at the southwest corner of Ness Avenue at Sturgeon Creek have begun and will be completed as soon as possible," said the city in a statement Tuesday. "It is anticipated repairs will take approximately two weeks. Ness Avenue will remain closed in both directions between School Road and Valley View Drive until repairs are complete."
The city said the sinkhole was a result of a collapsed land drainage sewer.
