A Japanese city on Tuesday reopened a busy street that collapsed into a giant sinkhole, with the efforts of workers who toiled around the clock drawing praise on social media. <br /> <br />The gigantic sinkhole, measuring around 30 metres (98 feet) wide and 15 metres deep, appeared last Tuesday in a bustling business district in the southwestern city of Fukuoka, swallowing part of a five-lane street. <br /> <br />The sinkhole, apparently triggered by subway construction in the area, had exposed the support columns of nearby buildings at a traffic intersection. <br /> <br />Japanese workers toiled continuously, dumping huge amounts of wet cement and sand into the gaping hole and fixing electricity, gas and water lines that had stopped following the accident. <br /> <br />The hole was fixed within just two days, although it was only reopened for public use after the relevant safety checks were carried out. <br /> <br />IT eventually reopened at 5 am Tuesday, Fukuoka Mayor Soichiro Takashima said in a statement, exactly a week after the ground began sinking. <br /> <br />"We're very sorry for causing great trouble," Takashima said, noting that a ban on access to surrounding buildings was lifted. <br /> <br />Miraculously, no one was hurt in the accident in Fukuoka, the biggest city on the southernmost main island of Kyushu. <br /> <br />Many on social media expressed amazement at the quick recovery.
