Another sinkhole has opened above the M6 tunnel construction project in Sydney’s south, just days after a similar occurrence.
This time the landslide took place on the airport side of West Botany Street in Rockdale, about 12 metres from the surface.
The site is about 150 metres away and on the opposite side of where a two-storey commercial building suffered a partial structural collapse on March 1.
In a statement this afternoon, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) said the area impacted this morning was not accessible to the public and was away from residential or commercial buildings.
However, a crew of five workers had to be evacuated.
“No injuries occurred and a small work crew who were in the tunnel at the time, were evacuated as part of standard safety procedures,” it said.
“SafeWork NSW was immediately notified and an exclusion zone has been established around a 20-square metre area.”
Further tunnelling work has stopped while engineers and other experts assess the area.
Some remediation work has commenced, according to TfNSW, including “backfilling and securing the area underground”.
“No other sites across the M6 Stage 1 project have been impacted. Any potential changes to construction timelines are unknown at this stage,” TfNSW said.
Sections of the building affected by the earlier incident remain under an exclusion zone, but since Friday some tenants have been given the all clear to return.
More information will be provided on Sunday.