toronto sinkhole

A sinkhole that looks like a portal to Hell just opened up in downtown Toronto

Driving around Toronto can be annoying, especially within the downtown core when a lot of cars are out — but trust me, no matter how long you had to wait in traffic yesterday, your commute could have been worse. You could have been eaten by a sinkhole.

Fortunately, nobody was swallowed into the bowels of Toronto's sewer system earlier this week when Camden Street split right open down the middle, steps from the soon-to-open Ace Hotel and right in front of another construction site.

One local resident shared photos of the nasty sinkhole early Tuesday morning, noting that City of Toronto workers were on the scene to survey the damage.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the city is still trying to figure out what happened to cause such a huge concrete cave-in. Camden, which is a short street running from Brant Street to Spadina Avenue between Richmond and Adelaide Streets West, is closed until further notice.

"The city has responded and is investigating the potential cause of the sinkhole," said a spokesperson for Toronto Water. "As part of the investigation, Toronto Water is undertaking closed circuit television (CCTV) inspections of nearby sewers to obtain additional information."

With the investigation ongoing, the city is unable to provide a timeline for the road closure, but it's safe to say that this will be a bit more complicated to fix than a simple pothole.

The Garment District Neighbourhood Association, a local community group, says that the part of the road where the sinkhole appeared had actually been deteriorating for weeks.

Toronto is no stranger to sinkholes — we've dealt with our fair share of unexpected road openings, many large enough to fit full cars.

That's what happens when you let your sewer system live to be more than 100 years old without replacement.

This particular sinkhole on Camden didn't hurt anyone, but it is raising some eyebrows due to its location in front of a new Brad J. Lamb development site that saw crews hastily tear down some potential heritage buildings this past summer.

If the hole doesn't look like a hell portal to you at first glance, try looking again with this knowledge in mind.

Lead photo by

Garment District Neighbourhood Association


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