It's one of Toronto's busiest intersections and it's had 7 sinkholes in 3 years

For the seventh time in three years, a sinkhole has opened up in or near Toronto's busy Church-Wellesley intersection.

"It is bizarre," Jaret Sereda of the Church-Wellesley Villa BIA told CBC Toronto. "Why it keeps happening, I can't speak to that."

City staff blame 150-year-old water pipes that run beneath the intersection, combined with sandy soil. When a leak in the aged pipes happens, the surrounding earth can be washed away, causing the road above to collapse, staff say.

Wednesday's sinkhole, on the north side of Wellesley Street just east of Church Street, was described by Toronto police as being about 2.5 metres long, although CBC Toronto staff on the scene estimated it to be about half that size.

Within hours, city crews had patched the hole with asphalt, although that section of Wellesley Street, mainly a bike lane, remained blocked with cones and taped off a day later.

The sinkhole was the second to open up in or near the intersection in less than two weeks. On Nov. 8, a nearby section of Wellesley Street collapsed, causing police to close the street while repairs took place. 

Sereda said traffic disruption in the area caused by the sinkholes is generally minimal.

"If it continues to happen, that’s certainly something our office is going to explore further," he said.

City spokesperson Krystal Carter said in an email that staff are unaware of any injuries caused by the collapses, or any other city intersection that's experienced such frequent sinkholes. 

She said there were only two water main breaks at the intersection between 2012 and 2022. "The recent increase in breaks in 2025 shows a steeper deterioration of the water main,” she wrote.

This month's sinkholes were the sixth and seventh to open up in the area since 2022.

Despite the frequent roadwork and resulting traffic problems, both Sereda and Connie Langille, president of the Church-Wellesley Neighbourhood Association, say residents and businesses are taking the sinkholes in stride.

"Some of them get a little frustrated, but generally it's not a huge issue, in that we know the city will be by very quickly to remedy the situation," Langille said.

"It's almost a joke now; we're just waiting for the next one, we're waiting for a car to get swallowed."