As Toronto continues to deal with shifting weather conditions, city staff the number of watermain breaks is three times higher this year compared to last year.
“When it gets really cold, the ground shifts and cracks our old cast iron pipes,” Bill Shea, director of distribution for the City of Toronto, told Global News Thursday.
According to statistics provided by city staff, there have been approximately 250 watermain breaks in Toronto since Dec. 28.
News of the increase comes as a portion of Yonge Street at York Mills Road remains closed after a massive sinkhole developed in the area following a watermain break on Wednesday.
The sinkhole began to materialize at about noon in the area just south of Highway 401.
Water service to homes and businesses was closed off at around 5 p.m. as crews began to figure out a way to fill the crater-sized hole.
Southbound traffic on Yonge Street has been reduced to one lane until the repairs are complete.
Meanwhile, another smaller sinkhole developed on Pape Avenue in the city’s east end on Wednesday.
Authorities said the sinkhole was also linked to a broken watermain.
Pape Avenue has been closed between Gamble and Torrens for repairs.
— With files from Jamie Mauracher