Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has called on Premier Jacinta Allan to guarantee the safety of Heidelberg residents after a large sinkhole opened on a sporting oval above the North East Link tunnel route, prompting an emergency exclusion zone and a halt to tunnelling in the area.
The sinkhole appeared at A J Burkitt Oval in Banyule Flats Reserve on Monday evening. The SES said the hole was about eight metres wide and five metres deep, and crews helped establish an exclusion zone before the North East Link project took control of the site.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of the $26 billion North East Link project, which will connect the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen with the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough via a 10-kilometre corridor including 6.5 kilometres of tunnels.
Earlier in the morning, Shadow Minister for Public Transport Matthew Guy raised concerns about the Heidelberg sinkhole, which opened above the North East Link tunnel construction zone, saying Victorians deserved a clear guarantee from the Premier and the state government that the project’s tunnelling and related works were being carried out safely and were not putting local residents at risk.
Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority Roads chief executive Duncan Elliott said tunnelling had stopped while an investigation is carried out, adding that authorities were “confident” tunnel boring machines were a contributing factor, even if not the sole cause.
Wilson, who visited the site and amplified the issue on social media, said the Premier must provide clear assurances to locals that tunnelling beneath their homes is not putting residents at risk, and questioned whether changes to tunnel depth could be linked to the collapse.
Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams said an investigation was underway and confirmed tunnel boring had paused following the sinkhole. She said there was no immediate risk to nearby residents and that the site had been secured while inquiries continue.
The sinkhole has also disrupted local sport, with clubs based at the reserve facing uncertainty about access to the oval as assessments continue.
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