Lisburn Sewerage Improvement Scheme Continues

19 August 2015 16:54

Work is continuing on the £4.1 million programme of work to upgrade the City of Lisburn’s sewerage system.
When complete, the entire programme of work will restore the quality and appearance of one of the city’s greatest natural assets, the River Lagan, to present day standards as well as catering for future housing and commercial development in the area.
Phase 1 of the programme, a £2.9 million replacement pumping station at Drumbeg Drive, Old Warren, was completed in October 2014.
Phase 2, at a total estimated project cost of £1.2 million, entails construction work to upgrade “combined sewer overflows” at various isolated locations throughout the city centre and the wider area, with major sewer laying work on Linenhall Street and Antrim Road / Antrim Street.  The contractor for Phase 2 is BSG Civil Engineering and work got underway in January 2015, including work to lay a new sewer along Linenhall Street, which was completed in April.
Work to replace the existing “combined” sewer, along Antrim Street and Antrim Road between Sans Souci Gardens and Bellevue Drive, with a larger one started at the end of June 2015 with the intention of being complete before the schools in the area started back on 27th of August. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, progress has been much slower than anticipated. There is an unexpectedly high concentration of existing utility services in the area we are working in and additional technical challenges and redesign work to minimise the risk of interrupting services to customers has delayed progress on this scheme.
In consultation with Transport NI, work on Antrim Street will continue until Wednesday the 26th of August - aiming to reach Bentrim Road by this date - and the road will fully reopen to traffic on Thursday the 27th of August when the schools return.  Northbound traffic will continue to be diverted via Bachelors Walk, Railway Street, Market Square, Smithfield Street, Hillsborough Road, Governors Road, Longstone Roundabout, Thiepval Road and Bentrim Road.  Southbound traffic will continue to be diverted via Bentrim Road, Thiepval Road, Laganbank Road, Hillsborough Road and Antrim Street.
To mitigate traffic disruption, work on Antrim Street and Antrim Road is constrained to school holidays, so it will be necessary to return to complete the sewer laying work during the summer of 2016, with the possibility of work during the 2015 Halloween / mid-term holidays if required.  Proposed work to construct a new combined sewer overflow chamber on Antrim Street, close to the entrance to the McKeown Street Carpark, will also be deferred until the 2016 school summer holidays to tie in with the completion of the Antrim Road sewer.
NI Water will continue liaising with local businesses and residents over the coming weeks as work progresses, and during the lead-in to the recommencement of work in the summer of 2016.
Work to upgrade combined sewer overflows at isolated locations throughout the city centre and the wider area is progressing well with completion anticipated in October 2015.
Customer queries should be directed to Waterline on: 03457 440088 quoting our contract reference: ‘KT391Lisburn Sewerage Improvements’.
Further information is available at: http://www.niwater.com/lisburn-sewerage-scheme/