A major construction accident on a main Victorian highway has left commuters thankful for their safety, residents of the area reeling and the construction site in complete disarray.
The major retaining wall on the Frankston stretch Nepean Highway collapsed leaving nearby Olivers Hill residents stunned and the industry asking some very serious questions. The southbound lanes were then closed, causing serious delays and traffic issues until geotechnical information could be gathered.
The collapse occurred to the $1.4 million retaining wall after ‘unexpected movements’ were identified the previous day. It is still as yet uncertain as to the actual cause of the wall collapse, but after a WorkCover inspection into the accident, the zero injury tally is a blessing, if an incredibly lucky one in light of the scale of the high impact wall collapse.
“The investigation is ongoing as to how this has occurred” said VicRoads officials. “We may not know for a few days”.
Many are now questioning how such a high impact accident could occur in light of the stringent industry procedures in this state. However, there have been growing allegations of locals pre-empting the wall’s collapse, with local leader newspaper reporting construction site workers labeling the wall as ‘not working’ the morning of the collapse – without putting up at warning signals or traffic diversions for passing highway users.
WorkCover has removed the remaining structural elements of the wall, with this month’s completion timeline for the wall now completely out of the question.
