By David F. Rooney
That sinkhole that devoured a portion of Airport Way near Williamsons Lake is proving to be an expensive beast to tame.
Darren Komonoski, operations manager for the Department of Engineering and Public Works, told Council on Tuesday that the final bill for replacing the failed culvert that caused it will be around $100,000. It has already cost $22,000 to dig it out.
“Digging it up is not that expensive,” he said. “The cost comes in when you have to put it (a new culvert) back in.”
The culvert by the curve beyond the foot of Red Devil Hill failed and shifted, allowing water to begin eroding the dirt around it. The sinkhole appeared Friday morning and the roadway has been closed to all but local traffic since then. (The detour runs up Nichol to Camozzi, past RMR to Westerberg Road.)
Since then, workmen have excavated the culvert and yanked it out of the ground leaving an 8.5-metre deep hole.
Komonoski said the crew is waiting for a new pipe and the roadway will be swiftly repaired and reopened.
