FLOODING brought misery for motorists on Wednesday when the A1 northbound was closed for more than 10 hours while thousands of gallons of rain water was pumped from the carriageway.

Hundreds of motorists were left stranded after the dual carriageway was shut between the A6136 Catterick South and A684 at Leeming Bar junctions just before 9am. One lane was finally reopened shortly after 7pm.

PHOTOS: Floodwaters wreak havoc on A1

Highways England used a heavy-duty pump capable of moving 9,000 litres a minute to clear the water.

The equipment was purchased after heavy flooding closed the same stretch of road in 2012.

Firefighters from nearby Richmond helped with the clear-up operation, with water being pumped into the nearby River Swale.

Motorists driving north were diverted off at Leeming, sent through Northallerton and along the A19, causing heavy congestion and further delays.

Highways England said water was three to four feet deep in places and covered 300 metres of the carriageway.

Speaking about the pump used to move the water, a spokesman said: "Located on the A1 at Bradbury, this is the first pump of its kind to be purchased by Highways England to deal with such events following a major flooding incident in 2012."

The stretch is currently being upgraded to motorway as part of the Leeming to Barton improvements.

The road was planned to close on Wednesday as part of the work, but the closure was postponed between Catterick North and Catterick South as a result of the incident.

Overnight resurfacing work on the southbound A19 between Osmotherley and South Kilvington was also postponed

York Press:
Floodwaters on the A1 near Catterick. Picture: Sarah Caldecott

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "Crews were called to reports of flooding on the A1 near to Catterick. Our high volume pump from Richmond fire station was sent to the scene.

"Fire crews are working alongside Highways England to assist with pumping flood water off the motorway.

"At 1pm both the fire service and the Highways England were using pumps to move the water from the roadway into the River Swale."

The southbound carriageway of the A1 was also affected by the flooding, although was not closed.

Motorist Karl Utley said: "I was travelling to a meeting in Northampton and the traffic slowly ground to a halt.

"It took a good 40 minutes to get through the jam. I was an hour late due to the flood and bad weather on the way down torrential rain.”

In September 2012, a 30-mile stretch of the A1 had to be closed after flooding left more than 100 vehicles trapped.

More than five million litres of water were pumped off the motorway before the road could be reopened - an operation which took two days.

The section of the A1 that flooded - which campaigners have called to be upgraded for years - had ground water filter drains that would have been put in when the road was made into a dual-carriageway in the 1970s.

The road was closed in both directions between junction 49 (Dishforth) and junction 60 (Bradbury).

In January this year, the road was closed for several hours after water spilled on to it from flooded fields, sparking safety concerns.

The heavy rain on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning prompts appeals for motorists across the region to take care.

The Met Office issued a flood alert warning for the North-East urging residents to be prepared as flooding was possible.

HISTORY OF FLOODING

In September 2012 a 30-mile stretch of the A1  had to be closed after flooding left more than 100 vehicles trapped.

More than five million litres of water had to be pumped off the motorway before the road could be reopened - an operation which took two days.

York Press:
The A1 in 2012 after the road was closed by flooding. Picture: Richard Doughty

The section of the A1 that flooded - which campaigners have called to be upgraded for years - had ground water filter drains that would have been put in when the road was made into a dual-carriageway in the 1970s.

The road was in both directions between junction 49 (Dishforth) and junction 60 (Bradbury).

In January, the road was closed for several hours after water spilled on to it from flooded fields, sparking safety concerns.

  • Did you travel through the floods? Tell us your experiences. Email newsdesk@nne.co.uk