Massive land shift takes out section of Manitoba highway

Construction crews are investigating the cause of a giant crater that appeared recently on Highway 83 in Manitoba’s Asessippi Provincial Park.

"Crews had to close a portion of PTH 83 on Sunday morning due to a slide that took out 200 metres of road, which dipped down five metres," said Larry Halayko, director of contract services with the Manitoba Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation. “We are just in the process of assessing the sight to find out the best course of action, but first we have to determine if it has stopped moving.”

A 200-meter section of Highway 83 collapsed between the communities of Russell and Roblin, Manitoba on July 1.

One of the factors contributing to the collapse was the weather, with 10-12 inches of rain falling in the last month.

“We don’t have a geotechnical report yet, but groundwater was definitely a contributing factor,” said Halayko, who could not say whether or not underground springs may have been caused the rapid erosion.

According to Halayko, there have been ongoing problems with the highway.

“It has been a problem over the years and the highway has been repaired through standard maintenance,” he said. “However, there have not been movements of this size.”

Asessippi Provincial Park is located about 100 km west of Dauphin, Manitoba.

The main feature of the park is the Lake of the Prairies, which is also known as Shellmouth Reservoir.

The lake has one of the largest walleye fisheries in Manitoba.

The park also includes a large campground with more than 100 serviced sites.

In the winter, the resort provides skiing, snowboarding and tubing, with schools booking annual ski trips.