Water pipe replacement to end Shrewsbury flooding misery
A £2 million project to replace worn out water pipes which have caused repeated bouts of flooding in an area of Shrewsbury will begin next month.
The works, which start on October 5, will see Severn Trent replace up to two and a half miles of piping in the Oteley Road/Roman Road area.
The mains in Roman Road have a history of leaks and bursts.
The area was badly hit by flooding in 2014 and again earlier this year when water pipes burst, flooding homes and businesses with gallons of water, causing damage that cost thousands of pounds to repair.
Phase one of the work is expected to take six weeks and road closures will be in place.
Phase two will run until December and a third phase will start in the new year.
Dave Simkiss, from EA Downes and Sons, was badly affected when the water main burst last December.
He said: "It is a case of too little too late, as far as I am concerned. The damage has been done. They have said it will be early 2016 before the works to the Roman Road section are carried out. I am not happy about it. I would rather that they just knuckled down and carried on with it in one go."
Ken Pritchard, owner of Pritchard's Van Hire, added: "It is a massive job and it is going to bring disruption but it has to be done. It does mean that the problem will be sorted out in the long term."
Severn Trent Water spokesman Gareth Mead said: "Some of our water pipes in Oteley Road have grown old and become brittle, meaning they can crack or burst.
"By laying brand new pipes, we'll be helping to prevent the disruption and inconvenience that can be caused by a burst water pipe. We anticipate this first part of the work will take six weeks, but we'll be working as quickly as possible to get the work finished sooner.
"We'll use temporary traffic lights from the side of the railway bridge to the junction of Sutton Grange Drive and entrance to Percy Thrower's Garden Centre, working past Shrewsbury Town Football Club.
"We'll then move along from the junction of Sutton Grange Drive and Percy Thrower's garden centre towards Thieves Lane roundabout."
Severn Trent's contract partner, Amey, will be carrying out the work.
