Flooded road reopens after months underwater

Image caption, Short Ferry Road was invisible after floods in October and January
  • Author, Harry Parkhill
  • Role, Reporter

A road that was completely underwater for months has reopened.

Short Ferry Road, in Shortferry near Lincoln, flooded during Storm Babet in October and also during Storm Henk in early January.

The road was closed for "most of that time" only reopening briefly for tests.

"It's obviously been a big inconvenience and we're relieved it's open," said Richard Fenwick from Lincolnshire County Council.

Image caption, A caravan park and pub were cut off by flooding on Short Ferry Road

The road has been able to reopen only after "extensive work" by the Highways Authority and the Environment Agency and daily visits by officers, Mr Fenwick said.

Mr Fenwick, head of highways assets at Lincolnshire County Council, said the length of the closure had been because the road was "invisible" after being "completely under water".

As recently as Friday there were still "patches of water" on the road that drivers had to "slalom through" he said.

The road, which connects nearby villages including Bardney and Stainfield to Lincoln, had been flooded before.

In 2019 farmland was flooded in Shortferry and it happened again when the riverbank nearby was breached in January.