A section of road collapsed on Wednesday in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province. The road cave-in broke two gas pipes and one water pipe. Our reporter Hu Chao has more.

Photo taken on Dec. 26, 2012 shows a collapsed section of a road intersection in Taiyuan, capital of north China' Shanxi Province. A hole, measuring around 5 meters deep and 15 meters wide, appeared after the road section collapsed. No casualties were reported by far.

The collapse took place at a main intersection around 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. The cave-in began with a small section and then widened, leaving a hole of about 5 meters deep, 15 meters long and 10 meters wide.

Passenger, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, said,"I saw the road suddenly sink at about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Luckily, it was a red light, so no cars were driving over that part of the road."

It was fortunate that there were no casualties. However it caused in severe traffic jams. Local traffic police came in time and set up security lines. More than 300 workers and 40 machines were sent to repair the broken pipes and fill the hole.

The cause of the collapse is still under investigation. But a related department said it may have been caused by the long neglected air raid shelter underground.

Ren Zaigang, vice mayor of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, said,"The collapse was probably caused by several factors. The underground soil here is soft. And there are several air raid shelters around here built in the period of the Cultural Revolution. The water pipes may also have leaked. An investigation is under way. This is indeed a lesson for us."

The repair work is still on-going. Many people are worried about the roads they walk over every day.

Resident, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, said,"I feel so disappointed about the condition and safety of roads."

Resident, Taiyuan, Shanxi Pronvince, said,"I feel so worried for my kids. They have to go to school every day. I hope roads can be built better. Then we will feel safe living here."

The collapse is not the first of its kind in the city. A road section of about 5 meters wide collapsed this summer. And an even worse cave-in happened in 2010, resulting in the partial collapse of a hospital.

Luckily there were no casualties in either of these accidents. These collapses were all reported to have happened above air raid shelters. Water pipe leaks resulted in soil erosion and caused the cave-in.

Ren Zaigang said,"We have set up an investigation team. They will start to make thorough checks across the city. And we will find a solution this issue."

Most air and water pipelines have been fixed so far, and traffic has returned to normal.

In recent years, there has been a high number of road collapses across the country. As urbanization accelerates in China, experts emphasized that the local governments should not only focus on construction above ground, but also better maintain underground pipe networks.

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