Highways officers have excavated a two-by-two-metre void in a town centre road as they try to find the cause of the hole.

Lord Street is currently blocked after the “large void” formed in the carriageway late on Wednesday (August 7).

The closure is at the junction with Loates Way, by the ring road, and because of the one-way streets in the area Hertfordshire County Council has had to keep staff on site to manage the flow of vehicles around the closure.

(Image: Cllr Stephen Giles Medhurst)

In an update today (August 9), a council spokesperson said: “Our highways team have stripped away the surface of the affected area, which is around two-metres-by-two-metres, and are excavating further today to establish what has caused the void.

“We have staff on site to help manage traffic and we’ve put in place a number of temporary measures to help minimise the impact on the local road network.”

(Image: Cllr Stephen Giles Medhurst)

The permit for the closure in currently set to last until August 22, but this is likely a placeholder as the council has not yet been able to confirm an expected date for the road to reopen.

The 1.6-mile diversion route in place takes motorists back around the ring road onto Clarendon Road, St Johns Road, and then Queens Road.

The pavement has not been shut.

(Image: Cllr Stephen Giles Medhurst)