Eastern Road due to finally reopen this morning after 10-day closure
A main road into Portsmouth which has been closed for more than a week was finally expected to reopen in the early hours of this morning – days later than originally planned.
Engineering works on the southbound carriageway of Eastern Road between the Farlington roundabout and Anchorage Park were initially due to be completed on Saturday.
Southern Water has been carrying out repair works to a sewage pipe in order to fix recurring leaks, overflows and other issues which have forced the route to shut on several occasions.
The firm previously said it ran into “unforeseen circumstances” centred around the “replacement of a sewer pipe collar”.
Rumours swirled on social media that the water service provider engineers simply dug a hole in the wrong place, but these were false.
Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council, told The News: “The plans they had available to them weren’t as they should have been.
“That wasn’t helpful, but the reason for the delay was engineers trying to get a good seal on the link they’re putting between two sections of pipe. One side wasn’t fitting properly and was leaking. They’ve had to revisit that in order to make sure they get a pressure seal.”
The latest closure was implemented on March
16, with motorists running into heavy traffic delays on surrounding roads.
Engineers are re-lining 300m of sewer, after the first 200m stretch was repaired between February 3 and 8.
Cllr Pitt added that he cannot currently make guesses about the economic impact on the high street – with some motorists avoiding travel entirely due to the roadworks on the A2030 and elsewhere in the city centre.
He added: “That sort of information takes months to come through on economic data, but it’s definitely unhelpful.
“There’s a balance here between essential works needing to be done to make sure the sewage system is functioning properly, which is obviously very important, and recognising that there is an impact to that.
“The visitor economy is very important to the city. We don’t want anyone to be turned off for that reason, but we understand that there is an inconvenience to the motorist. That is why we’re doing everything we can to continue to press Southern Water to get those issues fixed as soon as they possibly can.”
As previously reported, Southern Water had planned to finish the works last Saturday, and then when they missed that deadline, by yesterday morning.
The company said at the time that the works were “taking longer than anticipated due to unforeseen circumstances”, and that their teams were “working throughout the day and night” over the weekend.
A Southern Water spokesperson said yesterday: “Eastern Road southbound reopens 4am Tuesday, March 26. The cycle and footpath has already reopened.
“The re-lining work of the 300-metre-long sewer is nearing completion. The final stage before the road can be reopened safely is to resurface the excavations. These will be left to set before and road sweepers clean the road.
“We apologise for the disruption this work has caused residents, businesses and commuters. The work, which is part of a £1m solution, is being taken now to avoid more challenging times in the future.”
The plans they had available to them weren’t as they should have been