Tunnelling work on a £2.5m project in Stonehouse has stopped temporarily after specialist machinery ran into solid rock.
The scheme to address internal sewer flooding in the village had been progressing well with the latest phase boring a path beneath the local primary school’s grounds and pitch.
The newly named ‘MUGA Miner’ tunnel boring machine (TBM)– named following a competition with local primary pupils - had begun operations.
However, work was forced to stop last week after the TBM ran into unforeseen ground conditions.
Scottish Water must now re-assess the approach to installing the new sewer pipe which follows a route across the school car park.
This may include bringing in a larger tunnelling machine or using an open cut method through the car park during the summer holidays to avoid disruptions to pupils and staff.
Georgina Reid, Scottish Water’s corporate affairs manager in the west said: “It is a real shame as the project team were making great progress.
“The school has been especially supportive of the project, not least naming the machine that would tunnel beneath them.
“Unfortunately, we must now carry out a detailed assessment and review to decide the best way forward and we will ensure this is done as quickly as possible.”
The tunnel shaft area has been made safe while the review is carried out and work will focus on pipe laying in the grassed area north of the Tiles Sports pitches.
Scottish Water is installing new sewer pipe in the village to help divert storm waters to a sewer with greater capacity. This will help to prevent sewer flooding in the immediate area surrounding the primary school.
Work began in October 2021 and will be completed in four phases. Due to the issue of unforeseen ground conditions, the project is now anticipated for completion around autumn/winter 2022 instead of summer.
Georgina Reid added: “This investment in Stonehouse is a great example of the type of projects we are delivering to make a real difference to communities.”
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