A state of emergency has been declared in the northwestern Ontario town of Atikokan following the failure of a culvert on a major roadway. The culvert failure led to a 15-metre section of Mercury Avenue being washed out, the town said in a news release late Thursday afternoon. The washout also disrupted a water main that runs along Mercury Avenue, which has led to a drop in water pressure across the town. A boil-water advisory has also been issued. "I did not take the decision to declare a state of emergency lightly, and after considerable deliberation with our Municipal Emergency Control Group, it became obvious that this is the correct decision," Atikokan Mayor Rob Ferguson said in a statement.