Road shut again after 'wet tar' surface complaints

A resurfaced road was closed again within hours of reopening after motorists complained of problems including "wet tar" on one of the hottest days of the year.

A section of Normanby Road in Scunthorpe shut on Friday morning for the resurfacing work. It reopened later that day but closed again after North Lincolnshire Council received complaints from drivers.

One motorist described how his car and caravan were damaged by the "wet tar" when he drove along the reopened road.

A council spokesperson said: "The contractor believes a very heavy downpour of rain just after the surface was put down, followed by high temperatures, caused the issues."

On Friday, Lincolnshire recorded temperatures of up to 36C in some parts of the county while an amber heat warning was in place.

Nigel Miller said his car was towing a caravan while travelling on the road, between Mannaberg Way and Lysaghts Way, at about 13:30 BST when he experienced poor conditions.

"The car and caravan are covered in tar with chippings wedged in various parts of the car and caravan," he said.

"It was that bad. I travelled down that road at less than 10mph. If I could've turned around, I would've done but both sides of the road were wet tar."

North Lincolnshire Council said contractor Kiely Bros started the work at 05:00 to avoid the hottest part of the day.

It said it received complaints after the contractor reopened the road. The council then closed it following an inspection.

The authority said the contractor had been resurfacing roads in other parts of the country during the recent hot weather with no issues.

The road remain closed to the public while workers were "sweeping" it, the council said.

It expected the clean-up to be completed by early evening, after which the road would reopen.

The council added: "We are passing on Kiely's insurance details to anyone that has had damage to their vehicle and will do all we can to ensure they are treated fairly."

Kiely Bros have been contacted for a response.

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