May 16, 2022 1.00 pm This story is over 22 months old

A16 near Crowland reopens just 48 hours after road melted from lorry fire

Praise has been reserved for highways crews

By Local Democracy Reporter

Emergency repairs to the A16 near Crowland have been completed just over 48 hours after the road had to be closed due to a dramatic lorry fire that melted the surface.

Lincolnshire County Council’s highways department was forced to close the A16 south of Crowland on Friday, following a lorry catching fire the day before on the road.

The temperatures from the blaze were so high the road surface melted, with various materials from the lorry itself welding to the road as a result of the heat.

A before and after of the road. | Photo: Lincolnshire County Council

It happened across both sides of the road, within metres of a busy roundabout, though thankfully no casualties were reported.

The road was closed over the weekend to allow for emergency repair works, and after 48 hours of intense, frantic action, it is now open again thanks to a rapid response.

The ruined road surface was removed and the damaged sides were rebuilt, with an entire new top layer of the A16 laid down, treated and painted in just one weekend.

It means the road was closed for just over 48 hours, as the road reopened to the publicly 10pm on Sunday.

An unbelievably quick turnaround given the severity of the damage caused from the fire. | Photo: Lincolnshire County Council

Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “What a great effort by everyone involved to get this section of damaged road up and running.

“The damage to the road surface was so intense that smaller repairs were out of the question and a full resurface of the road was the only option we had.

“We worked extremely hard to get this road stripped back and rebuilt as quickly as possible and the results can be seen for themselves.

“I want to thank everyone involved in this swift repair and I also want to thank all road users for their patience whilst we carried out the work in a very short timeframe.”