Montreal sinkhole repairs expected to take 1 more week

Its been two weeks since a sinkhole opened up downtown Montreal, but one of the citys busiest thoroughfares is still closed for repairs.

The hole appeared on the corner of Ste-Catherine and Guy Streets on the morning of Aug. 5, swallowing a backhoe and the worker inside.

The worker escaped unharmed, and crews eventually lifted out the backhoe, but the repair work has drawn on.

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The street closure has hurt the local businesses that normally enjoy high traffic during the summer season.

Dominique Girard, manager of the 3 Amigos restaurant, says his patio is typically packed with people atthis time of year.

"Usually at lunchtime, and evening, I have three servers for the lunch, and three servers for the night," Girard says.

"Now today I have three tables, only one server, it's [certain] that some employees are penalized. I cannot keep everybody because there's nothing to do," he said.

The city says the repair work is a complicated process.

Crews had to first pump water out of the sinkhole in order to assess the damage with a camera before they could start repairs.

Workers are on the scene 16 hours a day, and the city says it will take at least one more week to patch up the road.