‘We were flabbergasted’: Sagging Winnipeg road devolves into massive sinkhole

Crews have blocked a section of a North Point Douglas Street after a sinkhole recently opened.

A gaping sinkhole opened on a Point Douglas street after a vehicle attempting to traverse the already sagging road had three of its tires go flat on top of it.

Sumen Sidhu works at an auto body shop on Pritchard Avenue.

He noticed the road was starting to sink on Saturday afternoon after a number of fire trucks drove over it.

Traffic continued to flow regardless, he said.

That is until a vehicle attempting to cross the slumping street later that day ran into trouble, with three of the vehicle’s tires going flat on impact.

The driver pulled over to the side of the road to switch them out, but more damage was on the way.

“Five minutes after that, it just transformed into this—just a big sinkhole,” Sidhu said.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson told CTV News Winnipeg they were aware of the issue and road crews were on-site Monday afternoon installing barricades and signage.

The city will begin surface restoration once any underground causes are ruled out, they said.

“There will be a longer timeline for repair if we determine an underground cause (sewer leaks, etc).”

According to Sidhu, there was another sinkhole on the same road in September, but it was nothing compared to the concrete chasm currently in front of his workplace.

“We were flabbergasted at first. I didn’t know what to think of it,” he said.

“I’ve been in Canada three years. I was in Toronto before. I have never seen road conditions like this.

- With files from CTV’s Scott Andersson