Stuck in traffic
DRIVERS in Brighouse were stuck in queues for up to an hour after a lorry carrying cases of glue shed its load.
Around 200 litres of PVA glue poured from the vehicle on to the road at Bridge End in Brighouse on Tuesday morning.
The road was closed from the junction of Bramston Street right through to the bus station on the other side of town as emergency service teams and Calderdale Council workers tried to contain the spill by absorbing the glue with grit and sand before scraping it from the road and disposing of it.
The incident was finally cleared up and the road re-opened at 4.40pm, six hours after the incident was first reported.
The driver of the wagon, who did not wish to be named, said: "I think as I went round the corner on to the bridge the wagon must have jolted because I felt something in the back tip over. As soon as I realised I stopped the wagon to try to reduce the amount of glue spilling on to the road. This has never happened to me before."
The wagon had started its journey in Cambridgeshire before delivering glue to Scunthorpe and then Brighouse. It was not far from its next drop when the spill occurred. "I travelled quite a long way before it tipped so I'm not sure what caused it", the driver added.
Traffic was diverted around the leak, causing huge queues along Mill Royd Street as drivers tried to avoid the incident by using Huddersfield Road, which already suffers from major congestion due to the roadworks at the corner of Cliffe Street and Birds Royd Lane.
Drivers were also diverted back up Bramston Street and Bridge End and through Commercial Street as traffic began to pile up in the town centre.
Technical Support Manager for the Safer Cleaner Greener team, Amanda Firth said: "It took most of the day to clear the glue. Initially the affected area had to be dusted down to absorb the glue. It was difficult to clear and had to be shovelled manually into containers. Finally the area was swept by a mechanical sweeper and pressure washed."
Meanwhile, drivers were left frustrated as queues stacked up through Brighouse and Rastrick. Cath Timewell, of Foxcroft Drive, Rastrick said: "I left home at 10.15 and I live minutes from the town centre, a journey that normally takes a few minutes. This time it took nearly half an hour."
Linda Haynes said: "It has taken me 20 minutes to get from Rastrick to Gooder Lane, I am only going to Bradford to visit my sister. It is quite frustrating but it is one of those things."
Julia Pitts said it had taken her 45 minutes to drive from Bradford Road across town to the Daisy Road area.
"I have never seen congestion quite like it," she said.
It was feared that the glue could run into drains and the River Calder, but the Environment Agency say there is no risk.
A spokesperson said: "The police alerted us initially and we had an officer already near to the scene. He was satisfied that there was no risk and that the material was contained in the road."
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Weather for Halifax
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
