TELSTRA has been suspected of exacerbating the underground erosion which closed down through traffic in Ipswich CBD for more than 24 hours this week. The busy Brisbane and East street intersection was closed shortly after 9am on 25 March after a one metre diameter hole appeared in the road surface.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale confirmed Telstra conducted work on underground cables on this site within the last five years and it was suspected this is when a clay stormwater drain was badly damaged, but not reported to council.

“This has led to a major surprise in the form of an estimated $750,000 repair bill,” he said.

“I don’t believe ratepayers should be paying the entire cost of repairs, especially after suffering long traffic delays and inconvenience yesterday and today.

“The work undertaken by Telstra was in very close proximity to the clay stormwater drain and it is unusual that there were no broken pieces of the pipe to be found when the site was reopened this week.

“A broken water main went undetected for a number of weeks with the water escaping down the damaged stormwater drain. Under normal circumstances water would have bubbled to the road surface to indicate a leak below.

“It is likely that over time a considerable amount of earth was washed down the stormwater drain and created the void beneath the road surface.”

Cr Pisasale added he was grateful for the quick actions of the public and police in closing the intersection soon after the hole appeared.

“I also want to thank Ipswich City Council crews for their round-the-clock work in repairing the water main, stormwater drain and the road surface.

“SES volunteers provide additional lighting and other support overnight while police attended to managing the traffic chaos created by the closure of the busiest thoroughfare in the city centre,” Cr Pisasale said.