A646 Halifax Road, Hebden Bridge: Cross-Pennine road which was closed for two months set to close again

Yorkshire Water recently re-opened the main A646 Halifax Road at Charlestown, Hebden Bridge, to start repair on a broken sewer pipe. The road closed on December 13 and partially re-opened under two-way lights on January 23.

This time the company needs to undertake work on a different section of damaged sewer pipe further up the road towards Todmorden, and will mean the road has to be closed for three days from next Friday evening, February 14.

Yorkshire Water says the work will be to repair a section of sewer and improve the resilience of the wider section of sewer that runs under the road by reinforcing it with a structural liner.

To do the work safely, a section of Halifax Road will need to be closed while the maintenance work is taking place.

The work will involve lining the section of sewer 65 metres upstream of where it was damaged before Christmas and help prevent further issues from happening with the sewer in future.

James Harrison, head of customer field services at Yorkshire Water, said: “We absolutely understand the impact this closure will have following the closure of the same road in recent months but we want to make sure our sewer is as resilient as possible to reduce the likelihood of this happening again in future.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we will be working as hard as possible to complete the work and remove the road closure as soon as possible.

“We will be working hard throughout the work to support the local residents and businesses, which includes arranging a shuttle bus for the duration of the work,” he said.

Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, Coun Sarah Courtney, said: “We know this isn’t the news anyone in the upper valley of Calderdale wanted to hear and I completely understand there will be concern about what this additional closure means for people living, working and travelling in the area.

“We want to reassure everyone affected that we’re working with Yorkshire Water to ensure the road is reopened as soon as possible.”

Yorkshire Water says its contractors will be working 24 hours a day from the evening of February 14 until February 17 to complete the repair which will require the excavation of the 3.6 metre deep sewer.

The lining work will then take place between 8am and 5pm to reduce the noise impact and allow the lining work to set. The road closure will be in place throughout this time, it said.

Yorkshire Water has arranged for a shuttle bus in the area to minimise disruption as much as possible. A fully signed diversion route will be in place to manage traffic in the area, the company said.

Coun Courtney has added on social media that she has asked for there to be signs discouraging people to use the roads around the tops and also letting road users know businesses are open as usual.

“I am also pushing for the shuttle bus to cover both sides of the closure,” she said.