The City of Edmonton is working to keep on top of multiple sinkholes throughout Edmonton as ongoing rain created additional work in the last few weeks. Although Epcor is responding to 30 subsidences, it doesn’t count each reported dip in the road as a sinkhole, per se. “What we characterize as a subsidence can be as small as a slight depression or dip in the road,” a spokesperson said Tuesday. At least three of those subsidences in the city, however, could do some damage, meaning city crews have actively blocked them off to the public. Crews are responding to reports of new road damage at 120 Street and 108 Avenue, for example. Fixes are needed to a shallow pipe that moves wastewater to the treatment plant. A repair timeline still needs to be determined, the city says. Although that road is closed, crews are keeping up local access for businesses in the area. Epcor is also working to repair a gravel road in an alley on 105 Avenue and 111 Street. Meanwhile, a sinkhole at 107 Street and 130 Avenue that first appeared early last week has proven to be an infrastructural Jenga of sorts as crews bypass hoses to redirect wastewater to the appropriate facilities before finishing repairs. When it first appeared last Monday, neither Epcor nor the city had an exact repair timeframe nailed down. That’s because the redirection alone involves drilling a 10-foot-diameter deep shaft and creating temporary access points for water to flow around damaged pipe sections, the city now says. “Given the size and depth of the infrastructure involved, and ongoing intense rain events, this work must be completed carefully to support the safe and reliable operation of the bypass system,” a city spokesperson said in a new statement this week. Those wastewater bypasses were meant to be completed Monday, meaning the rest of the week should be dedicated to pipe repair and restoring the road. The city says it will continue to provide updates as work progresses.
