Public safety concerns have forced Anglian Water to close Ongar Road in Brentwood as work there continues on a sewer collapse.
Work began on the road towards the end of last week and one lane was closed with traffic lights put in place. However despite attempts to stabilise the ground Anglian Water engineers have now agreed with Essex County Council’s Highways department that the road will be closed tomorrow (Friday) after the morning rush hour to ensure public safety.
A length of sewer pipe 4.5 metres deep below the road, and potentially up to 27 metres long, is affected and will need to be replaced. The road closure will be in place between the junctions with Doddinghurst Road and Geary Drive. Traffic lights will remain on the Doddinghurst Road junction.
The get the job done as quickly as possible engineers will be working extended hours – 7am to 10pm, seven days a week – on the repair.
The work is estimated to last four weeks, however this is an estimate only and may change if further complications emerge during the work. Full diversion signs will be in place in the local area.
Nik Shelton, Anglian Water spokesperson, said: “Closing a busy road like this is always an absolute last resort.
“We hoped that we would be able to keep one lane of traffic open. However the work is so close to the opposite lane of traffic unfortunately a full closure of this road is unavoidable.
“Public safety is the number one priority of Anglian Water and we cannot take any risks while carrying out this extremely difficult repair job. We know this will cause significant disruption for local residents, commuters and businesses and we would like to apologise to them, and also to thank them for bearing with us.”
An Essex Highways spokesman said: “We are working closely with Anglian Water and providing every practical assistance so it can carry out the necessary sewer repairs and ensure Ongar Road is reopened to traffic as soon as possible.”
Anglian Water will be keeping in touch with the local community by writing to nearby residents, erecting signage in the area, keeping relevant agencies informed and adding regular updates to the In Your Area page on our website at www.anglianwater.co.uk
