Repairs to start on car-sized sinkhole

Work to repair a sinkhole in that is the size of a family car will begin on Tuesday.

The hole, estimated to be up to 3m (10ft) deep, opened up on Milton Road in Cambridge on 22 June.

It is not yet known what caused the damage, but Anglian Water confirmed it had "not identified any issues with our network at this location, and our findings so far suggest that recent works in the area are not connected to this incident".

Cambridgeshire County Council, which maintains the road, said work to fill it in would begin on Tuesday, but it was unable to say how long it would take to complete.

Part of the road, which is a main route between the city centre and A14, has been closed in both directions between Hurst Park Avenue and the Elizabeth Way roundabout for three weeks.

The road recently underwent a multimillion-pound redevelopment which featured pedestrian crossings and a dedicated cycle lane.

The council said its contractors planned to fill the hole with concrete to form a slab, which would then have to be left to dry for several days.

Work could then begin to excavate the surrounding area and backfill the hole.

The council said: "Digging out and filling the hole, which is the size of a family car, will take several more days to complete."

It further stated that "given the unique nature of the works" it was unable to confirm when the road would reopen to traffic.

A council spokeswoman told the BBC the three-week delay between the hole opening up and repairs starting was because it needed to "work sensitively around utilities within the sinkhole to avoid loss of services to local residents".

She said investigations into what caused the large void were continuing.

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