For the second consecutive day, a large sinkhole outside the Auckland police headquarters in the central Auckland suburb of Freeman's Bay continues to expand, resulting in road detours. The sinkhole, which was initially noticed on Monday afternoon, has grown even larger overnight.
A Twitter user shared a video of the road collapsing into the sinkhole, accompanied by a warning about its formation: "FYI there's a sinkhole forming on College Hill right now." The sinkhole's estimated dimensions are approximately 1.6 meters deep, 3.5 meters long, and 2.5 meters wide, with a tunnel extending under the road for about 1.5 meters.
In close proximity to the sinkhole, there is another covered-up hole created during the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods in January, which locals claim has never been repaired.
Road closures were implemented on Monday due to the sinkhole, and as of Tuesday, Auckland Transport (AT) confirmed that roads were still affected. A one-way detour has been set up for westbound traffic on College Hill, while a temporary detour is in place on England St, Ireland St, and Scotland St. Motorists in Auckland are advised to use Franklin Road to avoid delays on College Hill.
Remarkably, the sinkhole is situated just meters away from the location of the harbour's high watermark in 1840.
Blair Huston, the managing director of Fortis Travel, expressed deep concern about the situation, emphasizing its dangerous nature. He highlighted that busy traffic has been restricted to a single lane for over five months and stated that he has never witnessed any workers attending to the sinkhole despite passing by the area multiple times daily.
Auckland authorities are undoubtedly working to address the issue, but the sinkhole's ongoing expansion remains a matter of concern for both commuters and residents in the area.
