A woman is in hospital in critical condition after her bike plummeted into a large construction hole near the Johnson Street Bridge.

Victoria police and B.C. Ambulance were called to the east side of the bridge near Wharf Street at 9:51 a.m. on Tuesday.

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The cyclist had hit the two-metre-deep trench, causing the bike to fall into it.

The woman was thrown from the bike onto the pavement and knocked unconscious. She was wearing a helmet.

Paramedics rushed the woman, believed to be in her 60s, to Victoria General Hospital.

Victoria police crash analysts cordoned off the area until 3 p.m., trying to determine what happened and whether there were proper construction signs to warn the woman of the hole.

Witnesses told police the woman was heading eastbound into downtown in single-lane traffic and appeared to swerve around vehicles, ignoring signs and a flagperson’s warning that the middle and far left lanes were blocked, said Const. Ryan Koropatniski.

“That lane was blocked off with signage saying to merge to the right. The cyclist travelling east over the Blue Bridge ignored the signage, went into the blocked-off area, ignored flaggers trying to get her attention to stop, and hit the hole,” Koropatniski said.

Several people came to the cyclist’s aid before paramedics arrived.

Chew Excavating, a subcontractor for B.C. Hydro, was working on that part of the bridge, installing a utility duct for electrical equipment, said City of Victoria spokeswoman Katie Hamilton.

“There are some physical barriers, some signs and flagpersons on site,” Hamilton said.

Before starting work, the company provided a detailed traffic-management plan, which the city will give to Victoria police so investigators can determine whether proper safety measures were in place.

The hole was covered up by late afternoon.

kderosa@timescolonist.com