Water damage behind sinkhole in southeast Calgary, councillor says

Water damage is to blame for a massivesinkhole that openedin the southeast neighbourhood of Cranston Tuesday, the area city councillor says.

Ward 12 Coun. Evan Spencer told CBC Wednesdaythataccording to an email from officials, adrain valve had broken in a park near where the sinkhole formed.

"One of the pipes that was feeding that system had had sprung a leak," he said. "Obviously it had been doing it for a long time, just due to the size of the hole."

The sinkhole opened at around 4 p.m. Tuesdaynear a busyintersection at Cranston Boulevard S.E. and Cranston Drive S.E.

After seeing photos of the sinkhole Tuesday, Spencer said it was"massive" and "the biggest I've seen in the city."

He reiterated that sentiment Wednesdayafter checking onit in person.

The sinkhole has disrupted traffic in the area andcaused issues for some neighbourhood residents' driveway access, but no water service disruptions have been reported.

Spencer said there's still work underway to identify the extent of the roadway damage and gauge how structurally sound the area is.

He added crews could work extended hours to fixthe road as soon as possible ifthe city determines that this is a high-priority location for repair.

Road maintenance information on the City of Calgary's website sayspotholes at high-priority locations are estimated to be fixed withinfive business days of inspection.