A second major upgrading project to tackle sewer flooding is to get underway in a Lanarkshire town – resulting in five months of works in a busy car park and main road.
The latest £1 million work in Stonehouse will see a new pipe installed from the car park of the Cander Centre and then along King Street and Queen Street.
Motorists will be unable to use the centre’s car park for six weeks after construction begins on Monday, July 17 - while later phases will require temporary traffic lights and then the closure of a section of road.
Scottish Water say that the area’s “existing infrastructure is old and requires improvement”, and they they will aim to “minimise disruption” during their latest work in Stonehouse.
The new project comes months after a previous year of works to improve sewer capacity, comprising major tunnelling and pipelaying work including under the primary school grounds, which concluded late last winter.
Phase one involves the installation of the new sewer at the closed-off Cander Centre car park. It will be followed by work taking place across King Street, which will require temporary traffic lights – and the third and final section of work involves laying a new sewer along Queen Street, with a section being closed near the King Street junction.
Georgina Reid of Scottish Water said: “We appreciate the impact this kind of work has on a small community, and we will do all that we can to work with residents and businesses to minimise any disruption.
“We would like to thank everyone in advance for their patience and understanding while we deliver this much-needed project.
“Sewer flooding is extremely distressing, so this project is great news for customers in Stonehouse – we’re pleased this significant investment will provide additional resilience to the network serving the local community.”
Caledonia Water Alliance will carry out the work, with Scottish Water saying that local “supply and drainage services should not be affected”; while road closures and traffic management plans have been agreed with South Lanarkshire Council.
Last year’s £2.5 million project created a new pipe route running from Vicars Road to Spital Road, leading to an increased-capacity sewer.
It included tunnelling work under Tileworks sports ground, and a major summer-holiday excavation of the primary school car park after specialist underground machinery was halted after running into solid rock.
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