'Massive sinkhole' shuts down part of Winnipeg intersection

Call it the Salter Sinkhole or the papa of all potholes.

A large crater has opened up in the middle of a busy intersection in north Winnipeg, forcing the closure of a stretch of Salter Street.

The northand southbound lanes are closed whereSalter Street meets Inkster Boulevard in the city's St. John's area. Inksterwas open on Thursday afternoon, but the median lanes in both directions are expected to be closed at some point on Thursday or Friday.

"Our crews have investigated and the sink hole was likely caused by a sewer failure at the manhole located at the intersection of Salter Streetand Inkster Boulevard," said LisaMarquardson, a spokesperson for Winnipeg's water and waste department.

Repair work has begun and is expected to take up to a month, she said in an emailed statement.

Winnipeg police initially tweeted late Wednesday night that the entire intersection was closed due to a "massive sinkhole."

Since then, barricades have been erected to enable traffic to flow along Inkster.