THUNDER BAY — Days after a high-profile incident that saw a Thunder Bay Transit bus get hung up in a sinkhole, a repair crew with heavy equipment was in action Tuesday at Oliver Road and High Street.
Traffic was disrupted while the team dug up pavement tp replace a broken pipe at a corner where the city had initially placed plastic fencing and orange traffic cones to warn drivers some time ago.
On Saturday, the right rear wheels of a bus got hung up in the hole when the operator attempted to make a right turn from Oliver to High.
No one was hurt, but the bus needed to be lifted back onto the pavement by a tow truck equipped with a hoist and a sling.
A transit official said the bus was outside the traffic cones when the wheels went through the pavement.
A spokesperson for the city sewer and water section was unable to comment on what transpired with the bus.
But he explained that the area where the sinkhole developed had been earmarked for repairs after a recent heavy rainfall exposed a problem with a pipe leading to a catch basin.
The pipe had deteriorated over a period of years, allowing water to flow outside it and causing subsurface erosion that couldn't be seen initially.
Until the pipe could be replaced, the spokesperson said, the area was identified as a hazard and blocked off.
Similar problems have developed this year with other catch basins in the city.
It's been a rough year for city road and sewer repair crews, as well as for drivers, with numerous streets damaged by the freeze-thaw cycle and by several heavy rainfalls.
NOTE: This story has been updated with additional information provided by the City of Thunder Bay
