This week, contracted crews working for the City of Prince George are repaving road and painting traffic markings at the site where a sinkhole formed earlier this year.
The city expects all lanes of Winnipeg Street to be completely reopened by next week. Pedestrian traffic on the east side of Winnipeg Street could be delayed for a few days longer as crews also have to pour new concrete to form sidewalks. Residents are encouraged continue to stay vigilant and follow construction signs in the area as some operations, such as cleanup, will be still be occurring in the coming days.
Last month, crews installed a 9.0 metre by 4.8 metre concrete chamber to replace a failed section of pipe, which caused several sinkholes at the location over the past few years. That project followed an extensive operation to remove groundwater from around the pipe that involved installing dams and three high capacity pumps to drain water from the site.
Following a large rainstorm this spring, crews discovered eight metres of pipe had completely deteriorated. The city believes the deterioration was caused by turbulence from the discharge of storm water from the Carney Street storm sewer that enters the pipe at the location of the failed pipe.
