Major road across Pennines from Hebden Bridge to stay closed for another two weeks
Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water say “further complications” and recent extreme weather mean the A646 Halifax Road at Charlestown, Hebden Bridge, will not re-open for now
Last updated 13th Jan 2025
A main route across the Pennines closed for major sewer and culvert repairs since mid-December will not open for at least another two weeks.
In a joint statement, Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water say “further complications” and recent extreme weather mean the A646 Halifax Road at Charlestown, Hebden Bridge, will not re-open – at least to one lane of traffic as hoped – until at least January 27.
On Friday, December 13, the road was closed to through traffic from that evening after a sewer collapsed and concerns about road users’ safety.
It had been hoped one lane could re-open using two-way traffic lights on Monday, January 13, but this has been dashed.
Previously, it had been hoped it could re-open by Christmas Eve, 2024.
The company and council say in the statement that further complications during emergency repairs and recent extreme weather conditions mean re-opening of the major route between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will have to be delayed further.
As a consequence, the road will remain closed for the next two weeks so work can continue on site to repair the damaged sewer and culvert, they said.
The sewer is Yorkshire Water’s, the culvert Calderdale Council’s.
Details of the order of work have been included in the statement.
The team now plan to remove a section of culvert to allow improved access to the sewer and lay a new pipe.
This will be followed by backfilling and repairing the culvert before the road can be reinstated.
The culvert will then be relined in the near future, but this will be done under two-way traffic management.
In the joint statement, Calderdale Council and Yorkshire Water said: “It is paramount that we keep residents, the local community and the team working on site, safe as this important repair takes place.
“Our teams are working extended hours, in very difficult weather conditions, with extreme cold and melting snow adding to delays in completing what is a complicated issue.
“We know that this is frustrating and inconvenient for all concerned, we can only apologise and thank local residents and businesses for their understanding as we work as quickly and as safely as we can to get a partial road reopening under two-way managed traffic lights from Monday, January 27.
“Our priorities remain getting the road reopened and maintaining customers’ waste services,” they said.
The statement says overpumping is taking place to remove clean surface water from the culvert to the river.
There is also overpumping and tankering to manage the flows on the sewer, returning waste to the sewer.
The customer liaison team at Yorkshire Water is keeping in close contact with residents and businesses in the affected area to keep them up to date, they said.
A shuttle bus serving people along Halifax Road, Todmorden, linking them to that town’s centre, will remain in place until the road has partially reopened.
“In view of the ongoing extreme weather and poor driving conditions, we would advise commuters to consider their route before travelling and plan ahead .
“All efforts will be taken to keep the designated diversion clear and safe during the ongoing snow and icy weather.
“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.
“We are also liaising with blue light services to ensure a route remains clear for emergency response vehicles,” says the statement.
The time the repair is taking has attracted criticism from residents of the towns on social media, with the alternative route via Littleborough taking drivers over a hilltop route in a week hit by snow and ice.
Extra signs have been put in place at Todmorden and Hebden Bridge town centres to show that although there is no through route, businesses in both towns including along Halifax Road remain open and are accessible.
More than 50 years ago, and dubbed “the Charlestown hole”, a collapse happened in the same spot.