Construction crews in Toronto took advantage of the eerily empty streets caused by pandemic lockdown to expedite some much-needed roadwork across the city last year, and though some of that work is still ongoing, one major forthcoming road closure was not exactly in the plans.

An unexpected sewer burst under Bay Street right downtown has necessitated some heavy duty emergency maintenance that's going to mean a portion of the thoroughfare will have to be closed to all traffic for at least an entire month just as things are starting to open up.

Initially, workers anticipated the repair would take a few days and now expect that it will take approximately one month. Crews will continue to work around-the-clock to repair the sewer and have the roadway reinstated as soon as possible.

— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) May 25, 2021

The city announced this week that Bay from Dundas north to Gerrard, as well as sidestreet Elm betweeen Elizabeth and Yonge, will be completely closed for around-the-clock repairs.

The clay pipe sewer in question, which dates all the way back to 1878, partially collapsed on May 14, and it appears that what was expected to be a pretty simple job has proven to be an extremely complicated one given all of the different lines running underground and the magnitude of the damage to the aging infrastructure.

The following full closures will remain in place to keep members of the public and crews in the work zone safe:

- Bay Street between Dundas Street West and Gerrard Street West
- Elm Street between Elizabeth Street and Yonge Street

— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) May 25, 2021

No solid end date has been provided for the work, and the one month timeline from May 25 is approximate at this point. Thus far, the city has had to dig an additional 15 m of tunnels to properly access the issue, which has made the affected intersections even more of a mess.

TTC buses running on the Bay route will be diverted, of course, while drivers and pedestrians are asked to plan alternative routes.