Yorkregion.com - Vaughan - Road could re-open by tomorrow
Road could re-open by tomorrow
Work crews repair an entire lane of Langstaff Road, east of Dufferin, that collapsed into a large sinkhole.
Vaughan
May 08, 2008 10:44 PM
By: Sean Pearce
Repairs continued yesterday after a tunnelling operation gone awry swallowed a sizable swath of Langstaff Road in Vaughan, forcing commuters to find other ways through the area.
If all goes well, Langstaff Road could be partially re-opened as early as Friday.
“We’re hoping to get two lanes open in the eastbound lanes as soon as possible,” said Tomislav Hrkac, a project manager with the Region of York.
Damage to the road and the surrounding area is the result of an unexpected shift of the ground beneath the surface caused by tunnelling during of construction on a trunk sewer project.
“This definitely wasn’t something that was anticipated,” Mr. Hrkac said.
The tunnelling machine was working about 20 metres below the surface when it encountered unstable ground that Mr. Hrkac described as “very wet and very soupy”.
It was these conditions, and the shifting earth, that led to the road collapse and the subsequent watermain break, he said.
No one was hurt in the incident, Mr. Hrkac said, adding the cost of repairs would “most likely fall to the contractor”.
Electronic traffic signs have been installed and traffic signals altered to help you around the closure.
Go to www.york.ca for more information.