Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Flood measure project almost home and dry
An 18-month project to end flooding in Airdrie by increasing waste water capacity is entering its final phase.
Scottish Water is preparing to install new pipes and manholes at Craigneuk Avenue over the next 10 weeks as they complete the £11.5 million relief project.
It has already seen the installation of a vast new storm tank, installed 19 metres below Craigneuk Park beside the town’s football stadium, to provide extra storage capacity during heavy rainfall.
Work first began in November 2020 to put the 25m-diameter tank in place to reduce sewer flooding, with new pipes also having been put in place along nearby Willow and Hawthorn Drives.
It followed flash floods earlier that year which saw 16 homes evacuated and streets turn into rivers when Craigneuk and neighbouring Petersburn were deluged by 21 millimetres of rain in just an hour during a torrential 3am thunderstorm.
Now the final phase of the project – due to be finished in April – will complete the work to increase the area’s flood water capacity to prevent similar incidents in the future.
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “Sewer flooding can cause a great deal of distress for people and this project will benefit a number of residents in the area who have been affected in the past. We
appreciate there has been disruption and we are doing all that we can to minimise the impact ; the long-term benefits will far outweigh any short-term inconvenience once the project is completed.
“We would like to thank local residents and road users for their patience and understanding throughout the course of these essential works.”
Three distinct stages of traffic management have been agreed with North Lanarkshire Council for the final phase of the Scottish Water project.
Craigneuk Avenue will be closed at different times around its junction with Hawthorn Drive; then between New Broomfield stadium and Howletnest Road; and finally at the end of the street up to its T-junction with Willow Drive.
Pedestrian and vehicle access to the area are to be “maintained where practicable” while the final work on the new pipes connecting to the underground tank takes place.