CONTRACTORS have reached the halfway stage of a 16-week project to secure water supplies to part of Ipswich.
Anglian Water is restoring one-and-a-half kilometres of the pumping main which brings water into the area around Belstead Road. The main has been out of action for some years, with water being supplied direct via the town’s ring main. The £750,000 scheme now underway will bring the main back into use to make the supply more secure in the event of a burst.
Engineers are using slip-lining techniques, feeding the new pipe through the old one without digging it up, to minimise disruption. Antony Innes from Anglian said: “By working in this way we won’t need to dig a long trench, but instead we will dig several isolated pits along the route of the pipe. This should reduce the disruption time for residents.”
Anglian Water also confirmed that a section of road in Cambridge is closed for around 12 weeks to allow repairs to a damaged sewer. Work to fix the sewer started in early January and the lengthy closure is because of the depth of the pipe, around eight metres beneath the road.
A spokesman said: “We will be working hard to get the job done as quickly as possible, including weekends and evenings where possible. But the 12 weeks we’re currently anticipating is a realistic timeframe.”
