Sinkhole nearly two metres wide appears in Commonwealth

The fifth such incident to be reported this year, the latest sinkhole incident appeared on the stretch after Dover MRT station and was deemed to be as wide as one of the road's three two-metre lanes. The local paper reported the affected area was 'immediately cordoned off', which resulted the closure of a second lane in the direction of the city.

Fortunately traffic flow was not disrupted and no one was injured, commented a spokesman for utility firm SP PowerGrid. Investigations to what caused the sinkhole is ongoing while the engineers are assessing the situation. The local paper presumes yesterday morning's heavy rain could have resulted in soil getting waterlogged, causing the collapse.

The suspended cabling works, are scheduled to be complete in March, and will only resume after the sinkhole has been filled - in an indefinite timeline. Today morning the sinkhole was covered by canvas groundsheets, reported The Straits Times, while officials from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore Power, parent of SP PowerGrid were also present on site.

While the officials declined to be interviewed, one of the contractor's workmen admitted that "whatever happened was unexpected".

Despite the string of sinkhole incidents, Lim Peng Hong, former President of the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore, believes contractors take precautionary measures to ensure excavation works are done safely here. "A lot of precautions are already being taken to ensure there is no adverse impact on nearby properties or ground," he commented to the English daily.