Update: The road re-opened at 3.25pm
A major Leicester road has been closed amid urgent repairs. Severn Trent Water is carrying out essential work on the A47 Humberstone Road between Forest Road and Overton Road in Leicester.
The closure comes into effect today (Thursday, January 2), with Leicester Area Traffic Control confirming the A47 will be closed to all through traffic for a number of days. Congestions was reported earlier today in the wake of the closure, with hold-ups reported on surrounding routes including Forest Road and Willow Brook Road
Heavy traffic was particularly noticeable where Forest Road intersects with Humberstone Road, while Overton Road and Frisby Road were experiencing knock-on effects from the closure.
READ MORE: Motorists in for long wait as current Leicester roadworks set to last ’74 years’
Bus diversions are in place, with First Bus confirming Services 38 and 38A will be diverted via Forest Road, Hastings Road and Tailby Avenue for outbound journeys, and via Uppingham Road, The Portwey and Hastings Road for inbound routes. Several other services including Arriva’s 37, 56 and 56A routes and Centrebus service 747 are affected by the closure, though these operators have not yet announced their diversions.
The notice for the Humberstone Road closure initially displayed incorrect dates for 2024, but has since been corrected to show 2025 dates instead, lasting until until Tuesday, January 7. Leicester Area Traffic Control confirmed the correct dates on social media.
News of the mistake comes as several road closure notices across Leicester have been displaying unusual completion dates reaching as far as 2099. The errors have appeared on the One.Network platform, which Leicester City Council uses to share road closure information.
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