Oswestry water pipe workers on track to reopen road
A road in Oswestry which has been shut since last summer because of major works is on track to reopen in July.
A road in Oswestry which has been shut since last summer because of major works is on track to reopen in July.
United Utilities engineers are reassuring residents that they are still on schedule with works in Old Fort Road. It has been closed as part of a nine-year programme to improve the quality of water carried along the Vyrnwy aqueduct and workers are refurbishing Victorian mains that pass through the area.
Engineers have been using a technique called swagelining, which involves lining old pipes – some which date from 1880 – with a tough plastic to give them a new lease of life.
The work has taken longer than expected but project manager Mike Holme said: "The residents in Oswestry have been brilliant and we'd like to thank them for their understanding and patience while we've been carrying out this vital work.
"We've developed a great relationship with the local community and it's our top priority to meet the schedule for Old Fort Road.
"An engineering project of this scale is always a big challenge and we've encountered a few difficulties along the way but we're confident we'll be finished by the agreed date."
Oswestry's town mayor, Councillor Cynthia Hawksley, said that she thought the company's announcement was great news.
She said: "I think United Utilities have been co-operative with the townspeople and have helped them. When things have happened they have been there to help us. I am delighted with the news, I am sure the residents will be even more delighted."
The Vrynwy aqueduct is a 68-mile pipeline which carries water from Lake Vrynwy in Wales through Oswestry's water treatment works to Prescot reservoir in Merseyside, providing more than 900,000 people with drinking water.
The water firm has been a help to the community and has previously helped to part-fund an adventure play area at Woodside Primary School in Gittin Street, near to the road closure in Old Fort Road.
Shropshire councillor Vince Hunt, the governors and school council raise dfunds to pay for the play area and United Utilities donated half of the cost.