Motorists anger boils as Broughton waterworks hold-ups hit a new high

The traffic lights were installed last winter when heavy rain threatened to overwhelm the sewer network and domestic water pipes in Broughton.

Yesterday (Monday) the lights got stuck on red in both directions causing long queues. Drivers took to social media to express their frustration asking why the works were taking so long.

A spokesman for Thames Water, which is conducting the operation at the Sor Brook, said: "We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the traffic lights on the B4035 near Broughton Castle. We’re aware of their impact on the traffic in the area and perform maintenance checks on them to ensure they’re working. Unfortunately, our team found the traffic lights were not working on June 1 due to the theft of a battery.

“We installed traffic lights and sent tankers to the area because of the prolonged heavy rain in late 2019 and early 2020, which caused higher groundwater levels and surface water to impact both our sewer network and private pipes.

“We’ve used tankers throughout the winter and into May to manage the flow of excess water and help prevent flooding. The traffic lights were put in place in order for our tankers to work safely. The groundwater levels continued to be higher than normal, despite the sunnier weather, which means the tankers were deployed for a longer period of time to ensure flooding to customers’ properties did not occur and that the groundwater levels had fallen before removing them.

“We’re aware of the damage to the area where our tankers have been operating and we’re starting repair work tomorrow to ensure the road is put back to how we found it. The lights will be manned each day from 7am - 7pm until the work is completed.”

The spokesman said repair work would start on June 3 and is estimated to take one to two weeks.