Road floods again months after being submerged

A major road that was closed for almost three weeks after being submerged by water has flooded once more.

National Highways said surface water built up on the A421, in Bedfordshire, at 06:00 BST on Monday due to a mechanical issue with a generator powering temporary pumps at the site.

Police closed a single lane on the east and westbound carriageways until the issue was identified and fixed at 15:00.

It came after a month's worth of rain fell in less than 48 hours in September and the A421 was closed at the Marston Moretaine interchange.

Following the flooding in September National Highways cleared 72 million litres of water, equivalent to about 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and the road fully reopened in October.

Work to relocate the pumping station at the Marston Moretaine interchange to higher ground began in March.

Simon Amor, from the organisation, said the work would help prevent further emergency closures on the road, which connects the A1 and M1, south of Bedford.

On its website, National Highways said that work to replace the pumping station was progressing well and the final phase was underway this month.

Speaking about the incident on Monday, a National Highways spokesperson said: "The issue has since been resolved and we thank drivers in the area for their patience while we have worked to clear the water."

They added it was committed to minimising weather-related disruption at Marston Moretaine.

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