A sinkhole caused by a water main break has closed a section of Commissioners Street in the Port Lands area of Toronto.
Toronto Fire crews responded to a call of water flowing along the stretch of road between Bouchette Street and Logan Avenue at around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Firefighters arrived on scene and located a TTC supervisor vehicle partially submerged in a sinkhole near the water main break.
TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said the driver got out safely and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was fully submerged several hours later.
Crews were able to remove the car just after 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Mission accomplished … the car came out with much effort,” Bill Shea, director of water distribution and collection with the City of Toronto, told reporters shortly after the removal.
Shea said a large TTC tow truck was required to lift the car out of the sinkhole.
WATCH: TTC vehicle removed from massive sinkhole. Jamie Mauracher reports.
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He said the sinkhole is approximately 20 feet by 10 feet, and it’s about six feet deep.
Shea said the water main is more than 100 years old. He said even though City staff haven’t determined the cause of the break, he said it’s likely due to corrosion.
“This soil tends to be fairly acidic You’ll get a corrosion hole over time. It’ll slowly build in there,” Shea said.
“(These are) very, very thick water mains but once you get a little bit of a hole, the water starts coming out and makes a bigger hole — and that’s very likely what happened here.”
He said it’s estimated the repairs will be completed some time Wednesday morning.
The water main break is located in between a city transfer station and a FedEx shipping centre.
The 72 Pape bus is currently being diverted southbound via Carla Avenue, Lake Shore Boulevard East and Cherry Street.
The same northbound bus is being diverted via Commissioners Street, Don Roadway and Lake Shore Boulevard East.
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