It’s been a bumpy road for Albert Street residents this week, after a sinkhole formed between Gamma and Delta avenues on Monday.
But the street should be much smoother once crews finish repairing the road next week, according to Marilyn Towill, Metro Vancouver’s division manager for transmission operations, water services.
The final paving will be done after the long weekend, she said.
The investigation into the cause of the sinkhole has determined there were a few factors involved, Towill said.
“As is typical in these situations, there’s no single cause,” she said.
The main issue was a faulty valve in a Metro Vancouver chamber, which contains some of its infrastructure, just up the hill from Albert Street, according to Towill.
A drain line was also not correctly connected to the City of Burnaby’s storm drain, she said.
Those issues have been dealt with, she added.
The sinkhole formed when water from the chamber flowed underneath the road, washing away the gravel bed under the asphalt.
“Because of the slope of the land, the water was contained primarily to the road,” Towill said.
A crew from Metro Vancouver was on site Tuesday morning, beginning repair work on the sinkhole. They peeled back the asphalt and replaced the gravel fill, and plan to finish paving early next week, according to Towill.
The roadway has been blocked to traffic while repair work is underway.
Metro Vancouver estimated the sinkhole was more than one metre deep, nearly five metres long and almost two metres across as of Monday night.
