A busy road linking Halifax and Huddersfield became a virtual “car park” for three hours.

Hundreds of drivers were caught up in massive traffic jams in Calderdale Way this afternoon because of a broken-down articulated lorry.

It ground to a halt on the uphill stretch from Elland to Ainley Top.

At one point, police allowed drivers to reverse up a slip road to try and clear some of the backlog.

And the hold-ups brought some of the planned hospital shake-ups in Huddersfield and Halifax in to focus.

Hospital bosses are looking at proposals to possibly close the A&E unit at either Calderdale Royal Hospital or Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and the Calderdale Way would be used by ambulances to transport patients.

Kirklees councillor Andrew Cooper witnessed at first hand the problems caused yesterday.

“I was on my way, ironically, to the A&E unit at Calderdale hospital and was luckily heading down the road from Ainley Top.

“The entire carriageway running up the hill was jammed solid in both lanes, all the way from the tunnel at Ainley Top to well past Elland and nothing was moving.

“It brings the whole viability of the hospitals plan into question. It would be a nightmare for anyone in an ambulance to be stuck in a jam like that”.

Kirklees Council, which is behind huge roadworks at the Ainley Top roundabout, confirmed the jams were down to the broken-down lorry.

The queues built up at 12.30pm and traffic finally began to move about 3.30pm.

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