Authorities in Japan temporarily closed a road which had been rebuilt after it had collapsed into a huge sinkhole, as it showed signs of sinking again early on Saturday (Nov 26) morning. 

Police cordoned off the area near downtown JR Hakata Station at 1:45 am (16:45 GMT Friday) after officials found the newly paved road had sunken by up to 7 cm over a 30 square-metre area.

No injuries, power outages or gas leaks have been detected due to the sunken road according to local police and utility companies, Japan's Kyodo News reported.

The police reopened the road around 5:30 am local time as authorities determined it no longer posed a threat to traffic or pedestrians. The road had been closed for a week from Nov 8 after a giant sinkhole, which measured 30 metres long and 15 metres deep, devoured a five-lane intersection near the central station.

Officials and engineers had battled against time as the sinkhole continued to fill up with sewage water and swallow nearby sidewalks from which commercial buildings stood only inches away. Workers dumped about 7,000 cubic metres, or about 2,000 trucks' worth, of soil containing cement into the sinkhole to reopen the road in a week. 

The Fukuoka government spokesperson said the sunken surface of the rebuilt road may have been caused by compression of the cement mixed in the special soil they used to fill the sinkhole, Kyodo News reported. 

(Asia One)