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Winnipegger Matthew Ricard has expressed some safety concerns over the city’s response to a large sinkhole near 222 Burrin Ave. just off Main Street.
Ricard said he noticed the sinkhole on Sunday and so his wife called 311. He said the city came quickly and put a cone in it and reported it as a small pothole.
“City came out pretty quick. I mean, I don’t want to put anybody down, but I got a little bit of construction experience and just from looking at the sinkhole there, you could tell it’s going to get bigger and bigger as the day goes on,” he said “So. I mean, a cone wasn’t the right thing to put there.”
Photo of the pothole when it was first noticed.
Matthew Richard
Ricard said it wasn’t long before a lady didn’t see the cone and accidentally ran it over, it got stuck under her car and he said he helped pull it out. He said he put some sandbags and caution tape around the cone in hopes people would see it and avoid the area.
A resident put sandbags and caution tape around a City of Winnipeg cone left to mark a sinkhole.
Matthew Richard
“We parked there all the time to unload our groceries, so it could have been one of our vehicles sinking in.”
Before long, what started out as a “small pothole” had developed into a large sinkhole. Ricard called 311 again Sunday evening to let them know it had gotten worse. “It’s probably an eight-foot by eight-foot square that’s fully sunk in now.”
As of Monday, part of the street had collapsed and was filled with water, and exposed rebar could be seen.
City crews have since blocked off a portion of the road and sidewalk in the affected areas. Global News reached out to the city for comment on when repairs will be done but has yet to hear back.
Photo of barricades now up around the sinkhole.
Arsalan Saeed / Global News
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