Kirkstall Road and Wellington Street: ‘Unavoidable’ traffic delays hit Leeds city centre for burst water main repairs

A burst water main on the West Street Gyratory – where Kirkstall Road connects to Wellington Street on the approach to the city – has been causing traffic chaos this week.

And Leeds City Council said a separate issue at Armley Road had put additional strain on the traffic network. It comes as a series of major roadworks projects are taking place across the city centre, including on City Square and at Armley Gyratory.

Bus services this week have reported delays of up to 45 minutes as a result of the emergency work.

The council said that, while the Armley Road gas works had now been completed, the burst water main repairs were not expected to be finished until Saturday (October 22)

Coun Helen Hayden, the council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate, said: “We recognise that our major improvement schemes can lead to some disruption on the highways network, and we work hard to keep this to a minimum by planning our programme so that schemes do not impact on each other.

“The unplanned emergency works have created unavoidable additional pressure on our city’s roads, and we thank people for their patience. At the same time we are encouraging people to plan their journeys in advance, either by allowing extra time or using alternative methods of travel. We will be publishing updates on our social media channels, and you can find diversionary routes at www.leeds.gov.uk/planahead”.