Confused drivers ‘diverted to Meadowhall car park’ after burst water main closes busy Sheffield road

The diversion came after a water main burst on Meadowhall Road, at the junction with Amos Road, causing the arterial route to be closed in both directions on Monday afternoon (December 16) and Tuesday.

While the road was closed, a sign directed drivers onto Meadowhall Way, which loops round the shopping centre and back towards the M1.

However, the heavy congestion already caused by hundreds cars full of Christmas shoppers meant that the road quickly became gridlocked, with confused drivers entering the car park.

Commuters have slammed the decision to divert traffic this way, questioning the common sense behind sending drivers towards an already-congested part of the city.

Richard Horsman, who teaches at the University of Sheffield, was travelling back home to Leeds when he encountered severe congestion because of the burst main on Meadowhall Road.

He said: “The roads were relatively clear and then about 25 yards before the geyser in the road there was a sign directing everybody onto the road around Meadowhall.

“If they had put any thought into it they would have realised that sending all this traffic towards Meadowhall when it is at its busiest with all the Christmas shoppers was not going to work.

“But no, they just put a yellow sign in the middle of the road sending people that way.

“There was no intermediate signage when we got onto that road. I imagine people were meant to follow Meadowhall way that loops round but people who did not know the way were going into the Meadowhall car park, which was full of shoppers. There were tailbacks up the M1 of people trying to get into Meadowhall as well.

“We were at a standstill. The engine was off for minutes at a time and we must have been stuck for more than an hour.

“There was an immense amount of frustration.”

Richard and his wife eventually took the first turning they could off Meadhall Way and found their way onto the M1 using the A6178, which runs parallel to the closed Meadowhall Road.

“The A-road that we found was relatively clear,” Richard added. “I do not know why the diversion was not signposted closer to the city centre and sending people towards that road rather than onto Meadowhall Way. You would have thought there would have been some forward thinking.

“Sending people towards all the traffic from one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe at the busiest time of the year just caused chaos.”

The decision to close the road and use the diversion was made by Yorkshire Water, who have the right to close the road if needed to carry out repair work.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “There has been a significant burst on Meadowhall Road in Sheffield which we have now repaired and are now undertaking substantial carriageway repairs that were caused by the burst.

“Due to the amount of damage to the carriageway we have been left no choice but to close the road to ensure the safety of motorists. The consequential damage repairs are well underway and we are planning to re-open the road to full traffic flows on Thursday afternoon.

“We understand that the road closure and diversion is inconvenient to businesses and shoppers alike however it is the best option to try and keep traffic moving as much as possible.

“We are working to reduce the disruption to a minimum whilst ensuring the repairs are carried out correctly in line with current highway specifications.”