Massive subsidence have reappeared on Ho Chi Minh City’s Truong Sa Street.
The street has been temporarily opened for traffic on August 8 to avoid congestion during rush hours. However, it will be monitored constantly in case of emergency.
Vuong Hai Long, director of the Investment Management Authority for the HCM City Environmental Sanitation Project, said they had installed supporting piles and used rocks to fill in the gaps.
"The street is temporarily opened because the amount of traffic on Monday is huge," he said.
The authorities had been guiding drivers to other alleys and routes to go around the fenced-off section. Another meeting will also be held today to find the solution. Investment Management Authority for the HCM City Environmental Sanitation Project will work with the Area 1 Urban Traffic Management Board and Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations to determine the cause of the subsidence.
At around 3am on August 4, people discovered that part of the pavement and the road had cracked and sunken. Later in the day, the sunken area spread wider and completely collapsed. The Department of Transport quickly sent officials to regulate traffic after receiving the news.
A day later and the hole has spread to three to five metres deep and covers 20 square metres. Congestion occurred after traffic to Truong Sa Street, covering the section between the bridges 4 and 5, was banned to allow for repairs.
Pham Tuan Khang, a local, said, "This is one of the city's model streets yet there are lots of holes. This particular spot has been repaired three times but it has just sank deeper and deeper. Each repair took a whole two months, really affecting the traffic flow and people's safety. We want the investor to completely deal with this problem. It's unacceptable that a good-looking street is so poor quality."
According to the representative of Area 1 Urban Traffic Management Board, the sinkhole on Truong Sa Street started to appear in April and the responsibility for the issue was transferred to the Investment Management Authority for the HCM City Environmental Sanitation Project. The street’s management was only restored to the board two days ago.
Ever since the street was opened to traffic in 2012, dozens of holes have appeared along Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal and the street's surface even ruptured randomly because of poor-quality construction.
Some photos of the street:
The street sank on August 4
The giant hole
Congestion occurs as the road is shut for repair
