Tunnelling on Victoria's $26bn North East Link project has been halted after a large sinkhole opened at a sporting oval in Melbourne's north-eastern suburb of Heidelberg.
The hole, measuring approximately five metres deep and eight metres square, emerged at A J Burkitt oval. No injuries or property damage have been reported, but the area has been cordoned off and the public advised to avoid the site.
Victoria's Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams confirmed the construction project is being investigated as a potential cause. Duncan Elliott, chief executive of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority Roads (Vida), said tunnelling works would not resume until a thorough investigation is complete.
The sinkhole is near the project's two tunnel boring machines, named Zelda and Gillian, which are located north of the oval. A similar incident occurred in February last year when an 18-metre deep sinkhole near the same machines halted tunnelling at Lower Plenty.
The North East Link will connect the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen with the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough, aiming to reduce travel times and remove trucks from local roads. Banyule City Council has warned people to avoid the area while assessments are carried out by the construction consortium Spark.
