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The replacement of a broken underground water drainage pipe, and the six-year-old sinkhole it caused on York Road, began on June 22.

City of Hamilton spokesperson Emily Trotta said crews from PipeFlo Contracting Corp., a Hamilton-based company that specializes in pipeline maintenance and rehabilitation, were on site and completed work on the pipe that disconnected from an inlet structure in 2016.

Draining water further undermined the broken pipe and caused erosion around it, resulting in the sinkhole abutting an Alectra Utilities pole, and north of a CN Rail bridge.

Trotta said on June 23 that remaining restoration work would be completed by late the following week, weather permitting.

The repair was awarded to PipeFlo as part of a broader sewer and water main maintenance contract, and specific costs of the York Road work had not been released by deadline.

Delays to the repair were apparently caused by a number of factors, including the requirement for city staff to communicate with Alectra, CN Rail and the Hamilton Conservation Authority, which regulates the area and issued a required permit in October 2021. While the inlet is on city property, the pipe travels through CN Rail property and the growing sinkhole encroached on Alectra property.

“This is a complex project with multiple stakeholders that requires multiple approvals before proceeding,” former city spokesperson Jasmine Graham said in February 2021.

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