Jen Skerritt and Lindsey Wiebe | Winnipeg Free Press

WINNIPEG motorists faced major traffic tie-ups Thursday as streets were snarled with unusual accidents, including a huge sinkhole and a crane that tipped.

The trouble started early Thursday morning when a collapsed sewer pipe created a huge hole in the south-bound curb lane on Route 90 at Logan Avenue.

Motorists burned gas (and some tempers also did a slow burn) as they sat in their vehicles in bumper-to-bumper traffic that extended from Selkirk Avenue to Notre Dame Avenue.

Damon Kennedy was en route to an appointment in the morning, but said he sat in traffic for more than 90 minutes.

"I had to go to the doctor and it took me more than an hour and a half to get from Selkirk (Avenue) to here," he said, while stopped at the Shell Gas Station near the sinkhole.

While the city's plan was to redirect southbound traffic east onto Logan Avenue, cars, trucks and semis decided to skip the queue by late afternoon and detour through the gas station parking lot. Shell employees were peeved since cars were clogging the parking lot, and large semis were having trouble maneuvering back onto Route 90.

City spokesman Ken Allen said one lane might be re-opened by Saturday, but advised motorists to think about alternative routes.

West-bound service for Transit route 26 and 77 will be affected by the detour: west onto Logan Avenue, south onto Bannister Road and east on Bannister back to Route 90.

"I got to find a way to get home now," said Rob Taronto, who was stuck in the line of cars at 5 p.m.

Drivers in the heart of the city didn't have any better luck.

At 3 p.m., an enormous crane toppled backward into a gaping construction hole at the corner of Isabel and McDermot Avenue, and was leaking fuel onto the street.

No further information was available about the cause of the accident.

"The crane just took a header, basically," said one fire crew member who refused to give his name. He said the crane operator wasn't hurt, and said it was "just a gradual, easy descent." The accident left the front of the crane thrust two to three stories into the air, and the rear tipped backward into a deep hole in the roadway, which is under construction. A puddle of fuel was spreading beneath the toppled vehicle.

The crane operator was safely removed from the crane, and no other injuries were reported.

The accident created a spectacle for gawking onlookers gathering at the scene, and calling friends on their cell phones. Some drivers left their vehicles to see the bizarre accident.

Police blocked off northbound Isabel Street to traffic between McDermot Avenue and Notre Dame Avenue causing traffic delays for rush-hour motorists.

Just when it seemed the mid-day rush was nearing an end, a car caught on fire on Maryland Street shortly after 5 p.m.

A fire truck blocked two lanes of traffic heading south on Maryland to put out the blaze that engulfed the front end of a green Pontiac Grand Am. The charred vehicle was blocking the left curb lane.

Fire crews who were at the scene said a woman pulled over when she noticed her car was smoking. The smoke quickly erupted into a full-fledged fire, but the woman got out without any injuries.