Road collapses during Gautrain drilling

road collapses during gautrain drilling

johannesburg - part of oxford road in johannesburg collapsed on tuesday during drilling for the gautrain.
a safety representative from the gautrain said they had "no idea" what caused the collapse, which happened during routine drilling around 13: 30.

"it was a shock," the representative said.

the collapse created an approximately 12-metre wide hole in the road between 8th and north avenues.

it appeared a water mains pipe was hit during the drilling because water was gushing out of the hole, into which part of a wall and a lamp post had fallen. because of the water it was impossible to see how deep it was.

safety officials were trying to determine if there were any other cracks along the road which could be dangerous.

the area was cordoned off and motorists were being diverted off oxford road into riviera road and 11th avenue. no injuries were reported.

dozens of gautrain workers, metro police and paramedics were on site