Hope sinking Holbeach road could be open in five weeks after rebuild

Holbeach’s Boston Road South is set for a three-week rebuild with a council saying it hopes to be “back to normal” in five weeks.

The road has been plagued with issues and has repeatedly sunken every time it’s thought to have been fixed in over two years.

After the completion of an Anglian Water survey, Lincolnshire County Council says it will start a three-week rebuild in two weeks time.

A county council spokesman said: “The council rebuild plan for the stretch of road, which was left closed after a sinkhole opened up in the route, is waiting for sewer lining works by Anglian Water to be completed before the extensive rebuild of the road can go ahead.  

“AW is due to complete its works at the affected site by the end of next week (July 1) and, once that is completed, LCC’s team will be able to begin the deep rebuild of the stretch of road between Holbeach Primary school to Cecil Pywell Avenue. 

“Whilst AW works have been underway, LCC has taken the opportunity to carry out other jobs in this part of the road that would otherwise have been carried out at another time. 

“However, once the ongoing sewer works are complete, LCC crews will undertake a full reconstruction on the site. Removing affected substrate and replacing it with a multi-layered material build around the asset will shore-up the area and return it to normal use. 

“These council repair works will happen in two phases. The first part will take care of the sub-layer of the road and the second part of the rebuild plan will deliver the road surface and markings.  

“The road will remain closed until the works are completed.”  

Coun Richard Davies, executive member for highways said:  “The exploration into the cause of the sinkhole at the site – and the plans on how to rebuild this area in the best way to arrest the unique problems encountered – has seen an extensive amount of work undertaken by us and our partners. 

“The news that we will finally be able to get on with the job we’ve waited months to get to is very welcome.

“The frustration over these delays felt by residents and businesses, as well as our own engineers and crews, is something that we are acutely aware of 

“We will be carrying out our part of the rebuild work as quickly and efficiently as possible so as not to cause anyone more delays.  

“I know it hasn’t been easy for all concerned and I would like to thank local residents and businesses for their continued patience.”