AT BUTE: Heavy rains to blame; power cut to nearby highrises
Ethan Baron and David Carrigg
Province
Roadway and sidewalk along West Pender were swallowed by a massive sinkhole that also took down a power pole and cut power to nearby highrises. Recent rains are being blamed. Photograph by : Jason Payne, the Province
A massive sinkhole took out a section of West Pender Street yesterday in downtown Vancouver, shutting the road and cutting power to several highrise buildings.
“I was looking out my window and heard a little noise and then saw scaffolding that was holding up some signs collapse,” said Howard Swadron, who lives on the 24th floor of a nearby highrise.
A small section of West Pender at Bute Street then collapsed into an adjacent excavation on the south side of the street, which caused a water main to burst, Swadron said.
“Then the road really gave way,” he said, adding a small electrical fire broke out when a power pole fell into the hole.
Swadron called 911 and fire crews arrived soon after and immediately cut off gas, water and electricity to nearby buildings.
“The one good thing I could say is it happened on Boxing Day and there was no one in the hole, and light traffic on Pender,” said Vancouver Fire and Rescue Capt. Randy Hebenton.
“During rush hour on a busy Monday, it would have been a real disaster.”
It appears erosion from heavy rainfall was a factor in the collapse, Hebenton said.
“Because of the massive flow of water, it was eroding the roadway and collapsing it into the sinkhole.”
Last night, the section of sidewalk and roadway that had collapsed into the excavation was at least 20 metres wide.
Swadron said the site was a “beehive of activity” all afternoon and several buildings remained without power last night.
He said the excavation site where the road collapsed had become very wet over the past week, with pools of water on the ground.
The route of bus No. 19 will be affected by the closure of Pender, but transit officials yesterday made arrangements for a small shuttle to travel on Thurlow, Hastings and Jervis streets.
It’s not yet known how long Pender will be closed, or if the west-bound lanes can be opened while the eastbound lanes are under repair, said Vancouver police Insp. Rollie Woods.
“If it takes a week or two, obviously it has more of an impact,” Woods said.
Power to the nearby buildings is expected to be out for several days.
© The Vancouver Province 2005