Sewer repair work delayed on main city road

The road was badly flooded when the rising main failed on 3 September

A £2.5m project to repair a sewer that burst under a main road has been delayed so "urgent work" can be carried out.

Contractors were due to line the pipeline on the A2030 Eastern Road in Portsmouth, Hampshire, with chilled tubing on Tuesday, before heating and hardening it to form a seal.

But work never started and a spokesperson for Southern Water said one southbound lane, between Burrfields Road and Tangier Road, would be closed from Sunday evening.

The road was badly flooded when the rising main failed on 3 September.

The spokesperson said: "Following a delay to allow for a further survey, one lane southbound will now be closed on the evening of Sunday 26 October and remain closed until the evening of Tuesday 28 October 2025.

"Once the urgent work is complete, we will have details for the start of the full works."

Most of the work is expected to be carried out during the night to keep the tubing cool.

The liners are made of reinforced glass and resin and are fed into the pipeline before being heated, which removes the need for digging to expose the full length of the sewer.

Alex Saunders, director of wastewater operations, said there had been "similar challenges along the pipeline in recent years".

He said: "We would like to thank road users and local residents for their continued patience while we implement a long-term solution which will make this important pipe more resilient."