A crater the size of a small swimming pool has been ripped into the eastbound lanes of Lawrence Ave near Victoria Park Avenue after a water main broke under the intersection on Tuesday morning.
The break cut off water to a nearby apartment building, but Toronto Water has since repaired the pipe and restored service to the neighbourhood. Two lanes going westbound and one going eastbound were open by late Tuesday morning.
The hole in the road will stay open until gas workers have wrapped a nearby gas pipe. Then, several truckloads of filler will be poured in the crater, which should be fully covered by Wednesday afternoon.
Two lanes of traffic in each direction should be able to get through the busy intersection by Tuesday afternoon.
The past week's thawing and freezing has lead to several potholes and water main breaks throughout Toronto as ice expands in the cracks of already aging pipes.
The pipe servicing the city's downtown is mostly made of cast iron and much of it is coming to the end of its 80-year lifecycle.
