A massive chunk of a main Rawdon street disappeared on Tuesday morning, the second such sinkhole to open in the area in the last few weeks.
Officials say it will take at least three months to repair.
Nobody was injured in the road collapse on Queen St. but residents said they are concerned about how much worse the incident could have been, with two schools just down the road.
According to Rawdon Mayor Bruno Guilbault, a resident saw the beginning of the collapse at about 6 a.m. Tuesday. Power in the area was shut down due to concern the erosion could topple several nearby power lines.
With large amounts of spring runoff water flooding the area in recent weeks, the area in which the sinkhole opened had been monitored by officials for several days. The road had undergone several inspections per day, including one as recently as midnight, just hours before the collapse began.
“An inspection was made last night,” said Guilbault. “It happens sometimes. We don’t know exactly what happened, if it was the rain, or the snow thaw. We don’t know.”
Over the next three hours, the road continued to cave 20 metres below and city crews expect it could sink even further.
The road had been repaired several years ago and Guilbault said city engineers would try to determine if that played a role in the damage.
Earlier in April, flooding in the area caused the collapse and closure of a portion of Highway 25 for at least two months.
“Rawdon is built mainly on sand – sand everywhere. So if you get any type of water runoff, well, sand doesn't stick,” said resident John St-Denis.
Cars – including school buses – will be rerouted until the sinkhole is repaired.
