THE pedestrian tunnel at the Tongle exit of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway has been closed for repairs to its drainage system.
The 100-meter tunnel, which connects Dabao Road and Gaoxinqi Industrial Zone in Bao an District, is often flooded to knee depth, causing many passing vehicles to stall from flooded engines.
Groups of unemployed people had been taking advantage of the situation by charging motorists exorbitant fees to push their cars out of the water.
The drainage system was poorly designed and it is the fifth time we have had to pump the water out this year, said Luo, an engineer from an unidentified drainage company.
The tunnel was built in a low area, so pumps were installed to pump water to a drain on Dabao Road. However, landscaping of the land beside the tunnel had resulted in leaves and silt blocking the drain, especially after heavy rain, said Zhang, an engineer with the Guangxi Urban-Rural Planning and Design Institute.
Two drains would be built on either side of the tunnel to drain the accumulated water from the tunnel, authorities said.
(Han Ximin)
