Crisis Averted As Latest Sinkhole Plugged

Published 23rd Nov 2015

Manchester City Council have managed to plug the latest sinkhole to appear in the city centre.

Whitworth street has reopened after repairs were quickly made a pothole in the carriageway.

The road near the Palace Theatre was cordoned off, causing mayhem for morning commuters, to allow investigations into the cause of the road collapse.

This latest cave-in follows the major disruption caused by the sinkhole on the nearby Mancunian Way in August. Bus stops in the area have been temporarily shut while assessments are underway and the council admits the road restrictions will cause significant disruption for commuters.

Councillor Pat Karney said: “We're so unlucky! “We apologise because it is going to inconvenience commuters. All none urgent works have been postponed for the Christmas season and we didn't need this. A top priority is to get it repaired.

This latest road collapse is the fourth in recent months and Cllr karney says they are working to establish whether there is a pattern: " We're going to take a comprehensive look at why this is happeneing.

"We need to understand some of the science - whether this is just pure bad luck, wear and tear or fatigue on the road surfaces. We need some explnation.

The chaos that these holes cause means we need to do a thorough investigation."