It's double trouble! Drivers in Leeds face more traffic headaches

As reported in Tuesday’s Yorkshire Evening Post, safety work at the Bridgewater Place skyscraper means a section of Water Lane in Holbeck will be closed until early May.

And now it has emerged that separate flood defence work in the area will see a one-way system introduced on another stretch of Water Lane from this Monday until September 11.

The system will operate from Marshall Street to the Holbeck Lane/Bridge Road junction, with on-street parking bays being suspended between those two points.

Two-way signals will be in position between Globe Road and Marshall Street to aid deliveries and access.

In a letter sent to local residents and businesses, BAM Nuttall, one of the firms handling work on the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, says: “We apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused and assure you that we will do all we can to minimise the disruption whilst these essential works to reduce flood risk are carried out as swiftly as possible.”

BAM Nuttall also says the traffic management plan has been formulated to “safeguard both the construction teams and members of the public”.

The closure of the section of Water Lane nearest to Bridgewater Place will allow what is being described as “piling activity” to be carried out as part of a long-awaited scheme to combat the landmark building’s dangerous wind tunnel effect.

Massive canopies and screens are being constructed to deflect the powerful winds that can be whipped up around the site during stormy conditions.

Pedestrian Edward Slaney, from Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, was crushed to death by a truck that was blown off its wheels close to the 32-storey building in 2011.

Holbeck’s thriving mix of digital and creative businesses has made it a key driver of plans to regenerate the South Bank area of Leeds.

For more details about the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, visit www.leeds.gov.uk/fas.