Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water has confirmed Halifax Road is set to partially re-open by Monday.
The A646 Halifax Road has been closed for almost a month after a culvert collapsed and a sewer was damaged. The primary Pennine route between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge has been closed since December 13 due to repairs, causing traffic chaos for locals. Yorkshire Water is to repair its sewer and Calderdale Council ’s culvert.
Traffic has been diverted through Littleborough, crossing the Lancashire border. However, signs in Todmorden and Hebden Bridge remind travellers that shops and businesses along Halifax Road in both towns remain accessible.
The repair work has been hindered by extreme wet weather over the past few weeks, but Yorkshire Water has confirmed it plans to re-open one side of the road by Monday, January 13. A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “A number of complexities were found as we were carrying out emergency repair on Halifax Road to a council-owned culvert and utility operated sewer.
“This has been further hampered by the extreme wet weather over the New Year bank holiday.
“We are keeping in close contact with residents and local businesses to keep them up to date with anticipated timelines and have assigned a liaison team so that they have a point of contact to answer any queries or concerns.”
According to the spokesperson, in a joint update from the company and the council, it is hoped that the road can be partially opened by January 13. The spokesperson said: “Our joint priorities remain to fix the issues as safely and as quickly as possible and maintain supply to customers.
“We are working towards reopening one side of the road under two-way managed traffic lights from Monday, January 13, and the shuttle bus will remain in place until the road has partially reopened.
The shuttle bus has been operating to provide transport for residents on the Todmorden side of the hole Charlestown is near Hebden Bridge. The spokesperson said: “We appreciate that this is inconvenient and frustrating for residents and local businesses and we thank them for the patience and understanding as we work to resolve these complicated issues as quickly as we can, despite being hampered by the extreme weather.
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“We would advise commuters to consider their route before travelling and plan ahead.
“Calderdale Council is advising people to follow the signed routes to avoid additional problems for local communities, as the rural, narrow roads are not suitable for heavy volumes of traffic.”
The spokesperson confirmed Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water continue to collaborate to minimise disruption as much as possible.
This location has had problems before known as “the Charlestown Hole”, it made headlines back in 1972.
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