Eight-lane Highway Collapses in China

• Proeksa Meas
• 2 March 2018
• Construction Focus
• 1441 Views

A 30-metre section of eight-lane wide highway collapsed near a subway construction site in China on 7 February, killing eight people.

The incident which occurred in Foshan, Guangdong province in southern China injured a further nine.

Reports on Chinese state television said that the elevated highway collapse was caused by a rush of water from leaking pipes damaging the subway tunnel being built under the road. Construction workers struggling to control the rushing water in the tunnel were among the fatalities when the structure collapsed, leaving a six-metre-deep crater.
The subway line under construction runs for 23km through the city north of the provincial capital Guangzhou.

The South China Morning Post commented that rapid expansion of subway networks in China has led to numerous cave-ins and other deadly accidents.