COMMUTERS were stuck in traffic for more than half an hour last night due to a burst water main on Huddersfield’s busiest road.

Engineers were sent to fix the burst water pipe on the A629 Wakefield Road at the junction of Smithy Lane and Somerset Road at 3.30pm.

Motorists headed out of Huddersfield faced delays of more than half an hour as tailbacks went back to the Shorehead roundabout.

The inside lane was closed as engineers worked on the problem site causing further delays on Silver Street.

Commuters leaving the Silver Street industrial site at rush-hour faced delays of up to 25 minutes.

Motorists travelling in to Huddersfield were not affected by the burst water main.

Fitter Nigel McCarthy, from Doncaster-based H2O Water Services, said that the pipe was expected to be sorted by 8pm.

He said the burst had caused a disruption to motorists and three businesses along Wakefield Road, although these had closed for the day.

“Lidl across the road did not face any problems.”

Pralines Soft Furnishings, Paper Box Interiors and an unused building lost their water supply as a result of the burst.

This is the sixth burst water main around that area in just over three years.

In March, 2010, traffic was diverted to the inbound lanes near the junction with Smithy Lane due to water problems.

This left motorists in long traffic jams in both directions in and out of Huddersfield.

Although only three businesses were affected due to last night’s burst main, previous bursts on the same pipe have had a massive impact on homes, businesses and schools.

In September, 2009, there were two major bursts in the space of five days. In 2008 1,500 homes and Moldgreen School were left without water.

In October, 2007, a burst meant that all the Rawthorpe schools had to shut, along with Moldgreen School, St Joseph’s Catholic School and Longley School.

Last night taxi driver Peter Johnson said: “I have just taken someone to Asda and it has taken me nearly 30 minutes.

“The delays are awful and unfortunately I have to come back this way later, probably just to sit in traffic again.

“It is an ongoing problem and a real nightmare for drivers.”