Road closure warning ahead of sinkhole repairs

Work will begin on Monday to repair a main culvert which collapsed, causing a sinkhole in a town near Bradford.

The culvert runs below Thornton Road in Denholme, and drains water from nearby Soil Hill.

It collapsed in July causing a 4m (13ft) deep sinkhole in the road.

Emergency repairs were carried out at the time, but Bradford Council said major work would now get under way to stabilise the road.

Thornton Road, the B6145, will be closed between the junction with the A644 (Brighouse and Denholme Road) and the junction with the A629 Halifax Road.

Brighouse Road, currently one-way, will be opened to two-way traffic to allow a diversion for all Keighley-bound light vehicles, the council said.

Halifax-bound HGVs will be diverted via Queensbury and Boothtown.

Temporary lights will be in place at the junction of Brighouse Road and the A629 Halifax Road.

Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s member for transport, said the depth of the collapsed culvert meant it would involve "major repairs" lasting two months.

"I’d like to apologise for this disruption that this essential work will cause to residents and drivers,” he said.

The repairs would be funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Sustainable Transport Settlement fund, the council said.

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