November 18, 2019 4.59 pm This story is over 52 months old

Village road near Boston closed for a month after bank collapsed

Repair work is underway
The Fodderdyke slip has taken around 30 metres of the bank into the drain. Photo: Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board

Drivers in a village close to Boston will have to endure around a month of disruption as workers fix a collapsed roadside bank.

As previously reported, the road was closed for safety reasons after the bank side collapsed near New Leake Primary School on Thursday, November 14. The Fodderdyke slip took around 30 metres of bank into the drain.

Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board has started piling timbers into the foot of the bank. It has hired a specialist piling tool as the bed of the drain was too solid to pile using its normal piling rig.

Once the piling is complete, the Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board will rebuild the bank, which is expected to be completed by mid-December.

Lincolnshire County Council confirmed that a diversion route has been put in place for the duration of the road closure. The diversion is via the A16 towards Spilsby, then B1195.

Photo: Roy Tebbs

Peter Bateson, Chief Executive at Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board, told Lincolnshire Reporter: “This drain, along with the rest of the network in the area, is vital to carry excess rainfall to our pumping stations at Lade Bank and Hobhole and out into the wash.

“Therefore, we have to repair the slip to keep the channel clear. The current extreme rainfall makes this more important and with saturated ground we are seeing many slips in the area, but the one at Fodderdyke is the largest.

“Given the close proximity of the road to the damaged area, Lincolnshire Highways have understandably closed the road to keep local residents safe, and I do understand the frustration this causes.”