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Caitlin Zintel-Clemas heard a big bang on Thursday evening and temporarily mistook it for thunder.
But when she looked out a window to see asphalt heaving and water gushing down Fourth Avenue North at the corner of Queen Street, she knew better.
City of Saskatoon crews were at the scene on Friday morning; a worker said an “old pipe” had burst under the street. Repairs were underway, with about 10 workers involved.
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On Thursday, a nearby resident sent photos to the StarPhoenix of a Ford truck with its back wheels sunk in the hole and immobilized. The sender reported that water had been coming out of a manhole cover at the corner of Queen and 4th Avenue.
Zintel-Clemas said what she witnessed from her home four houses down was alarming.
“The asphalt literally came up off the ground,” she said. “The pavement was lifted and water running down the street. And you see that the water was running under the asphalt. When I stepped on it, it was moving like a waterbed.”
While it was encouraging to see the work being done on Friday morning, she fears there might be a larger problem under that pavement, she said.
“I don’t want to loss my car in a sinkhole.”
Trent Schmidt, the city’s water and sewer manager, said in an email that a six-inch cast iron pipe from 1912 had given out. An eight-foot length of pipe will replace it. The work was expected to be completed on Friday.
The intersection was closed for the unplanned repairs and detours were in place.
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