Southwestern Japanese officials managed to restore traffic to central Fukuoka city one week after a giant sinkhole devoured a five-lane junction near the central station
Mayor bows and apologizes as Japan sinkhole repair completed.
“I apologizes once again for to all those inconvenienced by this accident caused by the construction ordered by the City of Fukuoka”
After the sinkhole appeared on November 8, subcontractors worked around the clock to fill in the 30 meter (98 ft) wide, 15 meter (50 ft) deep hole by the 12th with a mixture of sand and cement. The job was complicated by the water which had seeped in from sewage pipes destroyed by collapsing sections of road.
After that it only took another 48 hours to reinstall all utilities — electricity, water, sewage, gas and telecommunication lines — and to resurface the road. There were no reports of injuries.
