Greater Shepparton City Council says it does not have any concerns that a sink hole that opened up on a nature strip on Broken River Dve, Shepparton, on Thursday, September 29 will expand under the road.
A resident has told the News that he was walking on the nature strip near the corner of Broken River Dve and Yarra Crt when the sink hole opened up beneath him.
The resident, who wants to remain anonymous, said he thought the hole, which was about a metre deep, may have been developing for some time.
“Judging by the amount of soil that had gone, I would guess that this problem was there long before it appeared under me as I was walking across that nature strip,” he said.
A council spokesperson said the hole was filled in on Tuesday morning after initially being cordoned off, and an assessment of services and assets in the area was made upon being notified of the hole.
“Works then commenced Monday afternoon to clean the pit and hydro excavation of all the loose material present in the hole to determine the extent (of the problem),” the spokesperson said.
“Nothing major was found after the initial works and the hole was backfilled Tuesday morning.
“At this stage, there is no concern of a larger hole forming under the two streets.”
The council said ground subsidence was not a rare occurrence and could be caused by a number of factors.
“However, it is thought there had been a void in the area for some time and the prolonged wet weather we have received has contributed to the ground subsiding,” the council spokesperson said.
“The area will be monitored closely for any further subsidence and if required, works will be programmed accordingly.”