You couldn’t make it up...
Less than a fortnight after council contractors resurfaced busy Chapel Lane in Emley, workmen from Yorkshire Water dug it up again.
Now residents are asking why one job couldn’t have happened before the other, and hope the road will be put back to its – brief – former glory.
“It’s just frustrating, and so patently silly,” said resident Raymond Gott, who has lived in Emley for 40 years.
Chapel Lane was closed for two full days whilst it was resurfaced. Workmen filled in potholes and made safe a busy road that, according to Mr Gott, had been in need of remedial work for several years.
It meant motorists expecting a half-mile journey on the main route between Huddersfield and Wakefield were faced with a round trip of six miles.
But when the work was finished the end result was impressive.
“Credit to Kirklees Council, their people did a great job,” said Mr Gott. “Then, eight or nine days later, Yorkshire Water came along and dug an 8m hole.”
A Kirklees Council spokesman said: “Kirklees Council undertook road repair works between Emley Village and Emley Moor in January in preparation for surface dressing to seal the road surface during the summer.
“Unfortunately there was a water main burst which Yorkshire Water urgently needed to repair so that water could be maintained to properties in the area and the damage to the road could be minimised.
“Yorkshire Water have estimated that the repair work will be completed, and the hole backfilled and surfaced over by Thursday, February 9. The council will be checking the quality of the Yorkshire Water repair and if it is not to the required standard then we will ask them to carry out remedial works.”
A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said: “All our road reinstatements are checked by the Highways Agency to make sure they are to the required standard.”
