Burst water main leads to roadworks on Leighton Buzzard's Stanbridge Road

It is expected that the road will be reopened by the end of this week
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A burst water main is the cause of roadworks on Leighton Buzzard's Stanbridge Road.

Anglian Water told the LBO today (February 9) that it has fixed the problem, but that the road will bot be opened until the end of this week.

However, one resident wrote to the LBO to claim that he was not happy with the way the works had been carried out.

Anglian WaterAnglian Water
Anglian Water

The man claimed: "Stanbridge Road was closed in both directions last Sunday, without warning, and is still closed as of today (Tuesday evening).

"It is a very short stretch, maybe only 20 metres, near Marleyfields.

"It appears that Central Beds Council have granted a permit to Anglian Water, though the permit at the site has no completion date.

"The road has thousands of vehicle movements each day, including major bus routes, and the closure is causing many to have to take very long detours for - what should be - short journeys to town, schools and the station."

The roadworks. Photo: Alistair Moffat.The roadworks. Photo: Alistair Moffat.
The roadworks. Photo: Alistair Moffat.

The man claims that the closure was still in place yesterday (February 8) at 4pm, yet no work was being carried out.

He added: "There was no machinery, no people and only a very small patch on the road surrounded by a lot of cones. Whilst there I saw several vehicles drive round the cones on the grass, although one driver did move and replace a cone in the road, such is the frustration amongst the users.

"I also saw several people waiting at a bus stop for a bus which won't be coming anytime soon. The roadworks are clearly passable for all vehicles; let's just hope there are no emergencies in the immediate vicinity.

"Anglian Water did this a couple of weeks ago near the Co-op and seem to have no regard to road users at all by closing the road again."

The resident argued that the work should be completed outside peak travel hours and that CBC needed to "manage its contractors more closely".

An Anglian Water spokesman said: “Our teams have been fixing a burst main on Stanbridge Road, near Marleyfields in Leighton Buzzard.

"We have now repaired the main, but in order to work safely, we’ve needed to close a small area of Stanbridge Road. We are currently waiting on specialist materials to complete the repair to the road and nearby area and expect the road to be reopened by the end of this week. We’d like to thank everyone for their patience while we have completed this emergency work.”

The LBO has contacted Central Beds Council for a comment.