Sinkhole closes road into Granville Island
Burst sewer pipe responsible for partial collapse of only vehicle access into popular tourist destination
A burst sewer pipe opened up a sinkhole at the entrance to Granville Island on Saturday, forcing the closure of the only road into Vancouver’s popular tourist hot spot.
For much of the day, vehicle access into Granville Island was closed, but by the late afternoon, crews had opened up the far outbound lane for alternating one-way traffic. Those headed to Granville Island were still advised to access the island through alternative means, such as walking, cycling or taking a ferry.
The faulty pipe is connected to the Granville Island pumping station, built in 2012, which moves sewage from the island and surrounding neighbourhood to a regional sewer main on 8th Avenue.
“The sewer station has been shut down and we’re having trucks move the liquid waste manually instead,” said Daniel Roberge, Vancouver’s director of water, sewer and green infrastructure.
While the sinkhole was close to one of the Granville Street Bridge’s support pillars, Roberge said it was not expected to grow, and there is no threat to the bridge. “There’s no structural issues at all.”
Later Saturday, a second, related smaller sinkhole opened up a few metres away.
Crews hoped to have the break repaired by midnight Saturday but said the work may go into Sunday.
“We’re gonna start digging roughly around 5 p.m. tonight,” he said Saturday. “If it’s a simple fix of a pipe, we think we’re gonna be done shortly before 12 p.m. tonight, and at the latest tomorrow at noon, we should have the road repaired.”
That would be great news for organizers of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, which closes today. Scheduled performances on Saturday were delayed slightly to accommodate festivalgoers slowed by the sinkhole, but festival attendance, as well as Granville Island’s usual weekend crowd, did not appear to be affected. Granville Island official Scott Fraser estimated more than 40,000 visitors came to the island on Saturday.
Sunday is another story, however. Sunny weather is expected, and with it, plenty more visitors.
“Granville Island will be busy and we hope to see full access returned as soon as possible,” he said.