A sinkhole underneath a heritage brick road has closed a street in downtown New Westminster.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m. on June 6, the City of New Westminster posted notices on its website and social media accounts regarding a “field emergency” in downtown New West. In response to the situation, the city closed Fourth Street between Royal Avenue and Agnes Street.
“We’ve been investigating a sinkhole underneath the heritage brick roadway, Fourth Street, north of Agnes,” said an update posted at 1 pm. “The site is exposed, and crews are working to repair the combined sewer main.”
Gabe Beliveau, the city’s manager of engineering operations, said the issue was reported last night through the city’s after-hours call centre.
“Staff attended shortly after receiving the initial notification and assessed the site for safety and determined there was concern for road failure,” he said in a statement to the Record. “Traffic cones were placed, and no parking signs were erected to keep vehicle and pedestrians away from the area.”
Beliveau said the full investigation and remediation began this morning at approximately 7:30 a.m.
No work was taking place at the time the incident was reported to the city, he said.
According to Beliveau, the initial opening in the asphalt was one foot by six feet.
“The cavity, once exposed, was approximately 250 cubic feet,” he said.
Beliveau said city crews are leading this response with support from a few external contractors.
“There are no concerns for the community,” he said Thursday afternoon. “Our crews are working hard to remediate the issue and the roadway will re-opened this afternoon.”
Beliveau said the cause of the sinkhole is undetermined. He said the combined sewer main was in good condition and crews found no evidence of soil debris downstream.
Ashleigh Young, the city’s manager of communications, said the area with the hole did have heritage bricks.
“Crews were careful to reduce damage to the bricks during removal and they are being stored for future reintegration,” she said.
