Busy Northampton road FINALLY reopens to thousands of motorists following weeks of repair works

A busy road in Northampton that is used by thousands of motorists has finally reopened after months of repair works.

Earl Street, next to The Charles Bradlaugh and Aldi, has finally been repaired by Anglian Water following a broken sewage pipe and a large sinkhole.

An Anglian Water spokeswoman said the damage was caused by a third party and the repair was “complicated due to the depth of the sewer underneath the road”.

The works are believed to have begun at the end of September and, according to roadworks.org, were listed to be complete on Friday, November 4. However, it was December 1 when the repairs were finished.

An Anglian Water spokeswoman said: “These works were challenging due to environmental difficulties once the excavation started. Our teams work with safety as the foremost concern so they proceeded in line with health and safety recommendations.

“We apologise again for any disruption caused and are confident this issue is resolved.”

However, some Chronicle and Echo readers were less than convinced when this newspaper published the initial story.

Chron reader David Hawkins said: “They fix it and a few weeks later same issue big hole where it has sunk. Why not fix it properly in the first place, then this would not keep happening. I guess it’s the patch it up quick fix cheapest option as always.”

Alex Zivanovic commented: “All the roads around that area are bad and constantly need work doing. Greyfriars next to the old bus station is the same as [it] has a dip that seems to get worse by the day, it's only a matter of time before that becomes another sinkhole.”

Cheryl Wright said: “The whole thing needs re-structuring and re-built – it’s the sewer. Then it won't keep happening.”

Clive Wright said: “The ground under the pipes gets washed away. I wonder if you dig deeper there might be a old tunnel?”

The road is a busy route for those living in the Mounts, going to The Racecourse, visiting the multiple businesses on the street including The Charles Bradlaugh pub and the Aldi supermarket.