Engineers monitoring Holbeach road over fears it might be sinking once more

Engineers are monitoring to see if a busy road is sinking once more.

Boston Road South in Holbeach was closed for months while engineers conducted extensive repairs to prevent the reappearance of a sinkhole which had caused problems for four years.

Lincolnshire County Council and Anglian Water are now once again monitoring the road after locals have raised concerns that it is sinking again.

Holbeach parish councillor Peter Savory highlighted issues with the road outside Holbeach Primary Academy and near the Branch Brothers site.

Speaking at last night’s annual parish meeting, he said: “Boston Road South is sinking again. That is quite a bump down there and could be dangerous.

“Near the school is quite dangerous. If you hit that at 30mph you know about it.”

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Issues with sinking in Boston Road South first began in 2019, but these were reported further up the street before moving down.

Excavations and repairs were undertaken in 2021.

And in 2022, the road underwent significant repair work which included Anglian Water relining the sewer.

More than £462,296 was spent on various investigations and works over the years, a Freedom of Information request revealed in 2022.

Richard Fenwick, Head of Highways Asset and Local Management Services, confirmed that his team is monitoring Boston Road South again.

He said: “We’re aware of these issues on Boston Road South and have notified Anglian Water so they can survey the condition of their drainage pipe here, where the previous reinstatement was made.

“If there is no problem with their water system, it’s more likely than not that the previous reinstatement has settled, causing a dip. If that ends up being the case, we would work with Anglian Water to re-level the surfacing.

“In the meantime, we will continue monitoring the condition of the road and, if it becomes dangerous for road users, we will intervene to make it safe.”

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Our teams relined the sewer in Boston Road South in 2022 – this helps prevent groundwater infiltration and keep the network resilient. Although we have had an incredibly wet winter, with the rainiest February on record for our region, we’re confident that the work in 2022 has made a difference. Recent surveys have shown our sewer is free flowing and not causing any problems with the road.

“Because this is a priority area for us, our engineers will be carrying out additional surveys to confirm that our network is operating as it should. We’ve worked closely with Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways team on Boston Road South, and we’ll continue to keep them updated with the results of our survey.”

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