The Croydon Underpass remains closed after mystery "void" opened up in the road yesterday, forcing traffic to be diverted.
The northbound lane of the underpass in Wellesley Road was closed yesterday morning after a 1.5 metre deep hole was discovered near a disused tramline.
FROM YESTERDAY: Croydon Underpass to remain closed overnight after mystery 'void' opens up in road
Transport for London warned drivers today that the road remains closed while "urgent repairs" take place.
The Croydon Underpass remains closed heading twds Thornton Heath due to urgent repairs. Q's onto the Croydon Flyover.
— TfL Traffic News (@TfLTrafficNews) July 7, 2016
Piles of rubble were strewn over the road at the northbound exit of the underpass this afternoon as a digger churned up the carriageway.
A worker at the site said the hole had been caused by subsidence underneath the road.
A Croydon Council spokesman said: “We’ve made safe a 1.5m-deep hole near a disused tram line under Wellesley Road, and are continuing our investigations as a precaution so we can re-open the closed lane as soon as possible.”
It is thought the "void" emerged during scheduled roadworks that have been taking place on Wellesley Road.
There were reports of gridlocked traffic causing a nightmare for motorists in the early morning rush hour.
The underpass was closed overnight as engineers worked "round the clock" to fix the problem, a Croydon Council spokesman said.
Croydon underpass is closed absolutely ridiculous traffic trying to get through!
— Mel (@melissa_escuin) July 7, 2016
Croydon people. Underpass is closed and traffic building up already. You will have a pants journey to work
— Gareth (@GarethWynDavies) July 7, 2016
Traffic is still able to travel soutbound on the underpass and northbound on the "over and up" slip roads, Transport for London said.
It is not known when the road will re-open.
Are you in the area? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6307 or email andrea.downey@newsquest.co.uk
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