FUKUOKA – In just few days, Japan has fixed a prodigious hole that had appeared in the middle of a road stirring horror among the locals disrupting traffic and causing a local blackout.
The road reopened just days after a sinkhole opened up outside a busy railway station and threatened to topple nearby buildings.
In a typical demonstration of Japanese workmanship and efficiency, workers toiled around the clocks and had practically filled in the section of road in just two days, according to local media, Guardian reported.
The construction of the road included repairing of a sewage pipe and replacing traffic lights and utility poles that were swallowed when the sinkhole opened up shortly after 5 am local time on 8 November.
The mayor of Fukuoka, Soichiro Takashima, said the affected ground was now 30 times stronger than before, adding that a panel of experts would be set up to establish the cause of the cave-in.
Local media reports said the 30m by 27m sinkhole, which was 15 metres deep, was caused by construction work on an extension to an underground line.
The Fukuoka workers, who filled the hole with 6,200 cubic metres of sand and cement, drew praise on social media. One person tweeted: “I’m surprised the road reopened in a week!” Another said: “Impressive. That was fast.”
