A large section of an East York roadway is taped off after chunks of concrete broke off and collapsed into the ravine at Taylor Creek on Friday night.
“I saw the whole thing sliding down the hill,” Andree Sales, a nearby resident told CTV News Toronto on Monday. “It was a pretty scary moment. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
City crews believe last week’s heavy rain saturated the root of a tree on the embankment, along Glenwood Crescent near O’Connor Drive and Woodbine Avenue, causing it to erode, along with the asphalt, and crumble off the side of the roadway.
Toronto Fire told CP24 on Friday around four-feet of the roadway disappeared down the hill.
This weather-related erosion has residents in the suburban neighbourhood of Parkview Hills concerned even more of the roadway could give way.
“If there’s a lot of rain coming down, the soil might become very very soft and then collapse even more, so that’s what we’re scared of,” said another nearby homeowner, Susan Kakkavas.
Since Friday, Sales says she’s observed even more wear-and-tear along her street.
“We’ve noticed that the road has sunk and we can tell from the puddles that used to be on one side that have now drained over to the fallen side,” she explained.
Dozens of fluorescent orange pylons and caution tape have barricaded the sinking area, with a city worker guarding the site around the clock to ensure no pedestrians walk too close to the edge.
Public Works, which looks after the city’s infrastructure, has assessed the scene, but are still looking into how the roadway can be repaired.
Officials told CTV News Toronto this will be no easy fix.
“It has to be fixed,” said Kakkavas.
The city says they’re in the process of assessing how much damage was left behind by last week’s storm and how much the clean-up will cost.
