Watermain break causes driving woes in downtown Toronto

Published Jan 23, 2023 • Last updated Jan 24, 2023 • 1 minute read

A worker helps repair a broken watermain at King St. and University Ave.

There’s yet another major traffic headache in downtown Toronto after a watermain break closed a major intersection.

The watermain break at King St. and University Ave. has crews working around the clock to fix the problem, which is estimated to last two weeks.

The city said late Monday that if it becomes necessary to replace the TTC tracks, the repairs could be extended by a week.

“The contractor excavated and found a broken watermain adjacent to the TTC track and hydro encasement at the east side of a trench,” the city said in a statement. “The pipe is cast iron and was put in service around 1882.”

The city says the repairs require replacing 25 metres of watermain and filling the surrounding area with concrete.

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King and University repairs are underway to repair a cast-iron water main that broke and flooded St Andrews #TTC station Saturday - the water main dates back to 1882 according to #CityofToronto - area closed for at least two weeks pic.twitter.com/EmaMY0u0q2
— Jack Boland (@TorSunphoto21) January 23, 2023

The area is closed to all traffic on King — between York and Simcoe Sts. — and on University, between Adelaide and Wellington Sts..

Pedestrians can access the sidewalks on the west side of University and both sides of King. Shuttles buses are operating between Dundas subway station and King at River St.

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