Ministry to fix small sinkhole on Beetham Highway

A SMALL sinkhole which developed on the Beetham Highway was scheduled to be temporarily repaired yesterday by the Highways Division and will be permanently fixed by this weekend, officials say.

The hole is on the westbound lane of the highway near NP and the Beetham flyover. An official from the Highways Division said the culvert was more than 80 years old and because of age and environment had corroded over the years. The culvert had recently shown signs of failure and the project had been put out for tender, with tenders closing last Friday. The official said the sinkhole will be secured temporarily yesterday and by this weekend the contractor would change it.

“We’re on top of it. It is unfortunate to have it form a sinkhole. We will deal with it immediately. Traffic flow today is expected to be back to normal.

The official said the culvert was one of five old culverts on the highway that needed to be changed and will be the fourth changed in the past two years.

In February 2017 the sudden appearance of a sinkhole on the Beetham Highway at Sea Lots caused long lines of traffic. In that case, blame fell on the Water and Sewerage Authority for a burst water pipe eroding the subsoil under the highway, leading to a cave-in.