The Government is working all-out to complete emergency repairs following road subsidence at the junction of Hai Tan Street and Kweilin Street in Sham Shui Po. The fast lane will be reopened to traffic by 6am tomorrow.

The Lai Chi Kok-bound section of the street between Yen Chow Street and Kweilin Street is currently completely closed to traffic.

The Government said it expects that temporary repair work on the fast lane of the affected section will be completed before midnight tonight.

The Water Supplies Department (WSD)'s project team is carrying out permanent repair work on the other lane affected and is aiming to have the Lai Chi Kok-bound slow lane reopened before the morning rush hours on June 5.

Thereafter, the WSD will arrange for permanent repair work to be carried out on the fast lane, on which traffic has resumed temporarily. The work is expected to be completed before the morning rush hours on June 7.

The road subsidence covers an area of about eight metres by 12 metres and is about four metres in depth. A sewer pipe and a stormwater drain located about two metres below the ground have been partially damaged.

The Drainage Services Department (DSD) has implemented temporary interception measures and is using a pump truck for temporary collection of sewage to ensure the operation of relevant drainage and sewerage facilities.

The DSD also plans to reinstate the two sections of drainage pipes in due course after the completion of the emergency repair works on the road.

The Buildings Department (BD) has deployed staff to inspect buildings in the vicinity of the road subsidence. After inspections, the BD considered there was no obvious danger to the overall building structure of these buildings.

To further understand whether other underground facilities have been affected, the WSD has arranged for professionals to review the underground conditions with radar detection on nearby roads. No road subsidence has been found in the vicinity so far.

The WSD, the DSD and the Highways Department are conducting a joint investigation on the cause of the road subsidence. It is preliminarily assessed that recent heavy rains may have intensified soil erosion.