Complex engineering fix for Nottinghamshire County Council highways investigating continued collapses of Victorian culvert beneath Queens Road, Newark, that cause sinkholes

The Victorian culvert beneath Queens Road in Newark has been found to be in far poorer condition than first thought, say county highways.

It has been responsible for two sinkholes that have meant the busy town centre junction has only been open for four days since April, and those four days account for a period where it was thought the problem resolved. Then another sinkhole appeared under a Range Rover.

A highways manager from Nottinghamshire County Council said: “Works have been ongoing since large holes appeared in the carriageway in mid-April, caused by a Victorian brick-built culvert collapsing beneath the road.

“Both investigations and repairs to the culvert are complex as it is a large structure located 3.5m below the surface, stretching several hundreds of metres and has a number of different utility services laid above it.

“Initial emergency repairs were carried out to make the culvert safe, but it has become apparent that it is in very poor condition and that more extensive works are required to prevent further collapses of both the culvert and carriageway. Site investigation and surveys have been ongoing throughout the closure to allow us to formulate a plan on how best to refurbish or repair the remaining sections of culvert needing attention.

“Designers are currently working on a solution, and we anticipate the further planned repair works will be on site later in the summer.

“We will be engaging with local businesses soon to update them on our plans.

“We appreciate the disruption caused to local residents, road users and businesses but our primary concern is to keep people safe.”