REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Wednesday, February 6, 2008

RAIN caused a section of road to collapse on the Isle of Capri, causing long traffic delays.

Salerno St was closed for more than three hours when the 20m by 20m hole appeared.

Police blocked the road while workers removed fencing and barriers around the hole. During the morning Surfers Paradise State School parents were forced to use alternative routes to get their children to school.

Senior Sergeant Greg Brake said the collapse happened just hours before a new pipe was meant to be installed under the river. “The rain caused a loosening of soil around the existing pipe and it burst causing the road to collapse,” he said. “It was too dangerous to open up both lanes to traffic so it will be opened up as a one-way road for now.”

Residents were unable to leave their homes by car and motorists were diverted until the road was open to traffic about 5.30pm.

A concerned resident said he was worried the water could encroach under his property.

“The hole was full of water when I came out,” he said.

“Something brought me outside. I’m not sure if I heard the noise but I just went into a panic.

“All of that water could be under my house.”

Gold Coast City Council continued work on the road while the rain caused problems for motorists elsewhere.

Two vehicles collided on the corner of Ross St and NerangBroadbeach Rd at Carrara, while on Thrower Dr at Palm Beach emergency crews worked to clear a two-vehicle accident about 9am.

At Hinze Dam sightseers hoping to catch a glimpse of the water overflowing caused traffic jams on Advancetown Rd when they stopped at security gates and backed up along the road.