It has been revealed that Thames Water are to begin their planned work on repairing a collapsed Reading sewer in early July. This extensive job will involve engineers building a new pipe eight metres below a major road in the town centre.
Therefore, the water company has warned that as the work is being carried out in such a busy area, one of the two roads affected will have to be closed while the repairs are ongoing. While Forbury Road should continue to remain open, Blagrave Street is to be closed from July 2 until the work is expected to be completed some time in November.
Head of Programme Delivery for Thames Water, Andrew Popple, said:
“This is an incredibly complex job that we have been working around the clock to design since the sewer collapsed six months ago.
“Due to the depth of the sewer and the extent of the damage, we are having to bring in specialist machinery so we can lay the new pipe using state-of-the-art technology. This means we can insert it underground minimising the amount that has to be dug using a deep trench.”
This sewer repair project is costing the water company £2 million.