UAE | Traffic and Transport
Traffic comes to standstill as a section of road in Al Ain caves in
A portion of a busy downtown Al Ain road suddenly caved in due to an underground cavity, halting traffic on Wednesday night.
- By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 14:23 March 20, 2008
- Image Credit: Aftab Kazmi/Gulf News
- According to the witnesses, a deep almost oval-shaped crack appeared right in the middle of the road.
Al Ain: A portion of a busy downtown Al Ain road suddenly caved in due to an underground cavity, halting traffic on Wednesday night.
Nobody was reportedly hurt as the road - Mohammad Bin Khalifa Street - caved in around 5:30pm on Wednesday when the traffic was thin.
This is the first incident of a road subsidence in the city though Al Ain Municipality had already declared the presence of underground cavities in the city that could pose danger to roads, buildings, and other civic infrastructure.
According to the witnesses, a deep almost oval shaped crack appeared right in the middle of the road. "Only a few cars were moving on this otherwise busy section of the road," said Saeed Ahmad, an expatriate resident, adding that none of them was near the crack.
Murad Ali, another eyewitness, said it happened suddenly and luckily there was no traffic near the spot at that time. "It could have led to a deadly accident if happened at a busy time," he said.
Some passers-by gathered near the crack and police were informed. Traffic police acted instantly and placed barricades at both ends of the road to stop the traffic. A team of municipality engineers and officials of the road section quickly reached there and started the repair work after a quick assessment of the cavity.
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