Cleanaway garbage truck sinks to axles in Broadview

A GARBAGE truck has sunk to the axles in a sinkhole caused by repairs to a burst water pipe at Broadview.

A GARBAGE truck has sunk to the axles in a trench caused by repairs to a burst water pipe at Broadview.

The Cleanaway truck hit a soft spot on Galway Ave, just north of Staffa St, about 10.30am on Friday.

Witnesses said they heard a “rumble and a big crash’’ as the truck sank in the unsealed backfill, causing it to lean precariously in the northbound lane.

Nobody was injured but the road was blocked for several hours while a crane was brought in to free the truck.

The truck stuck in the mud at Galway Ave, Broadview.

Allwater, a water utility company contracted to do repairs for SA Water, fixed a water leak at the spot last Friday and backfilled the hole in approved practise for water pipe repairs, a spokeswoman said.

Contractors had been hired to lay new bitumen, which was expected to be laid on Thursday.

“We are currently investigating why this was not complete as anticipated,’’ the spokeswoman said.

“We will not know for sure what caused this event until the truck has been removed and we can evaluate the site.’’

Allwater technicians remain on site to carry out this evaluation.

SA Water operations manager Mark Gobbie said rain had softened the trench and delayed bitumen laying.

“That was a pipe repair that was undertaken last Friday, the trench was backfilled and compacted in the normal fashion,” he said.

“Unfortunately with the rain, it took about a week or so to get the bitumen contractor in place.

“They were actually due to seal the trench (on Friday) morning.

“Unfortunately the rain we’ve had over the last couple of days has actually softened the top of the trench and when the wheels of the garbage truck drove in the trench, that’s what caused the collapse and the truck to be caught on two wheels.

“We will be looking at the background behind the trench compaction to make sure that the processes and procedures we used there were correct.”

The rubbish truck in the sinkhole on Galway Ave at Broadview.