Surrey town 'gridlocked' as drivers face 'nightmare' over 'complex' sinkhole repairs

Cars at a standstill at the junction of West Street and Station Road
-Credit: (Image: Simon Edmands)


Drivers are facing 'gridlock' as one of Dorking's major roads remains closed due to a sinkhole. Some even fear the jams are driving shoppers away from the town’s businesses.

West Street has been closed since the end of August and now Thames Water bosses have said the works to fix the issue are more “complex” than previously thought.

People have complained the closure is causing “gridlock” in the town with a number labelling the situation an “absolute nightmare”. Many have detailed their nightmare journey times - including 35 minutes to go a distance that should take 35 seconds, and in one case a driver abandoning their car in a car park.

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Having initially said it hoped the road would be back open by the end of the month, Thames Water was unable to give any fresh timescale for when the extended repairs may be complete.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “While we had originally expected to complete repairs later this week, further investigations reveal that the damage is not limited to a single section of the surface water sewer pipe, and our engineers will need to replace a longer section of the pipe along West Street.

“While excavating, we have also located a leak on SES’s water pipe, which will need to be fixed. This is a complex repair and because of these new findings we anticipate that the work will take longer.

"We will continue to work alongside SES and the local council to carry out the necessary repairs. Our customer representatives will talk to businesses and residents to keep them updated on expected timings.”

It was hoped to have a clearer timescale this week. The sinkhole appeared on August 30, forcing the historic shopping street to be closed to all traffic. Thames Water later confirmed the cause was a damaged surface water pipe, which required a complex repair. Work began last Thursday, which Thames Water initially hoped would take one week.

Surrey County Council has also come under fire for closing North Street too, which many have said has only made the situation worse. The council said the closure was due to “serious safety concerns” as some drivers were not following the signed diversion route creating potentially unsafe congestion on what is a very narrow side street.

There was a significant risk to pedestrian safety at the High Street crossing due to drivers taking illegal left turns onto the High Street, the council added.

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