A ROCKFALL closed part of the A629 Elland Bypass for much of yesterday.
No rocks reached the road but some crashed through a wooden fence onto the grass verge.
Engineers dug out a “rock trap” at the foot of the rock face, several feet from the road to safeguard the Ainley Top to Elland link.
The boulders fell from the 80-foot high rock face near the section of road between the Elland slip road and the junction with the M62.
The rockfall came at about 7.30pm on Wednesday and Calderdale Council immediately closed the uphill section of the road.
It remained closed until 4pm yesterday afternoon.
A diversion was set up, with drivers leaving the bypass at the Elland slip road and using the old Huddersfield Road through Elland to rejoin the Calderdale Way just below Ainley Top.
It is thought that weather conditions over the past few weeks, with very dry weather followed by some rain and strong winds, had weakened some of the hillside and caused the rocks to fall.
A spokesman said: “As there are no means to prevent further rock fall, safety measures have been constructed to stop more rocks falling onto the road and footpath.
“A rock trap has been constructed in the highway verge to trap any more boulders which may fall.
“The footpath running behind the highway verge has been diverted to ensure the safety of pedestrians.”
The bypass remained open for drivers heading from the motorway towards Halifax.
