A sidewalk collapsed on Dec. 29 in downtown Victoria.
A portion of Johnson Street was shut down for most of the day after a sidewalk collapsed into a construction site on Friday morning.
Crews responded to the site at Cook and Johnson streets after a water main burst in front of a construction site and about 30 metres sidewalk collapsed at around 11 a.m. in the 1100-block of Johnson Street. The sidewalk fell into an excavated construction site for The Wade condominiums. Part of a security fence also fell into the hole.
A sidewalk collapsed on Dec. 29 in downtown Victoria.
One tree also dropped down about two metres with the sidewalk but stayed standing.
Police said it appears that a retaining wall at the construction site collapsed.
City of Victoria crews and Victoria police blocked the area to traffic following the collapse of the sidewalk.There were reports that crews towed nearby vehicles so they wouldn’t fall into the hole.
Johnson at Cook street closed to #yyjtraffic -after what looks to be a retaining wall collapse at a construction site. Please use alternate routes.
— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) December 29, 2017
As of Friday afternoon, city crews were reconnecting water to all affected properties on Johnson Street. Water services to up to six business as well as a number of residential properties were affected by the sinkhole.
City crews are installing a temporary fire hydrant at the northeast corner of Cook Street and Johnson Street for any potential firefighting in the area. Hydro crews will be bringing in a truck to support the hydro pole in the block while work on the water main is underway.
A number of trees at the front of the site are also being removed. The trees were already set to be removed and replaced as part of the ongoing construction.
Once all of that work is done, traffic will be allowed in the block. The city expects the block to be open later this evening but said the north side of the sidewalk will remain closed and signs will be posted.
A sidewalk collapsed on Dec. 29 in downtown Victoria.
A sidewalk collapsed on Dec. 29 in downtown Victoria.
Crews are still investigating the cause of the sidewalk collapse.
“We’ve got geotechnical engineers on site looking at conditions to try and determine the exact cause, but what’s important to the city right now is to make sure that the area is safe,” Brad Dellebuur, assistant director of transportation for the City of Victoria said.
Alexa Huffman
