Sandy Lane, Chester
Update on our works from CWaC regarding Dee Banks (16 August) –
Severn Trent’s multi-million-pound project to install a 3km water pipe in Chester continues to make good progress and is on track.
Teams are still working hard on the £16million Chester Resilience scheme which sees them currently working along Sandy Lane. They are confident that the section between Dee Banks fork junction and Walmoor Park will be completed within five weeks.
Severn Trent continues to work closely with Cheshire West and Chester Council to mitigate the ongoing impact of these essential works.
It is understood that people have been impacted by the works in the Dee Banks area specifically, and the Council and Severn Trent have worked hard to develop a plan to address traffic build up and alleviate this as much as possible.
Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “We know these works have caused inconvenience to residents. We have worked closely with Severn Trent to keep disruption to a minimum.
“We understand most local residents would have preferred Dee Banks to take the traffic that would have normally used Sandy Lane. However, this would mean that an unclassified road would see a significant increase in traffic volumes that it is not safe to carry.
“We really do sympathise with residents and the wider community but as the Highway Authority we have a duty to maintain safe roads and protect our network.
“We are considering an option to ensure two-way traffic flow on this section of Dee Banks, by introducing traffic lights from 19 August, as well as a diversion route being in place. We apologise for the continued disruption this will cause but Severn Trent’s works must be completed as quickly as possible.”
The traffic signals will be programmed with slightly longer gaps between changes, to control traffic flow sufficiently on the unclassified road, which could create some traffic queues. If it becomes apparent that motorists are ignoring these red lights, the Council’s Highways Service will need to introduce a one-way system, allowing traffic into Huntington (flowing south) but not out (northbound).
These measures will be needed until Severn Trent need to return to Chester Road at Caldy Brook to complete that section of their works.
This is one of the biggest investments Severn Trent has made in the city, connecting Boughton Water Treatment works to Huntington Water Treatment Works. Our team continues to work seven days a week to get everything done as quickly and as safely as possible.
Overview
Job number : 6152523
Date : January to December 2024
Work type : Road closures
We want to make sure we all have plenty of our wonderful water - today, tomorrow and in the years to come.
That’s why we’re investing over £16 million to bring Chester a brand-new water pipe from Huntington Water Treatment Works to Boughton Water Treatment Works. It’s being installed to ensure over 100,000 of our Chester customers have clean drinking water, safely and reliably, every day.
Before our work can start several other utilities need to move their existing services to make room for our new pipe, we’ll keep you updated of when this work will start as soon as we can.
We would like to thank you for your ongoing support and patience since our work started.
Team one is currently working along Chester Road work towards the junction of Gorse Way under
3-way traffic lights, this section of work is due to be completed by the 15 April 2024. As we continue to work along the road, from the Gorse Way junction we will be closing Chester Road to through traffic. We will be visiting you personally to discuss your specific access needs to your property. Pedestrian and cyclist access will be maintained throughout our works. Although cyclist will be required to dismount alongside our working area.
Following the investigation work that took place along Christleton Road we are now ready to start putting the pipe in the ground. The A51 Tarvin Road junction with Brassey Street will be closed to through traffic from Friday 5 April until Friday 12 April. The team will then move onto Christleton Road starting with a lane closure from 9.30am Friday 12 April, then a full road closure from 8pm Saturday 13 April until 6.30am Sunday 14 April when it will revert back to a lane closure until 6.30am Monday 15 April. Team two will then continue working down Sandy Lane under a road closure. For details of the official diversion route please visit our ‘Planned Improvements’ webpage here. We know our work can be noisy and a nuisance and we thank everyone for their patience. Please see map over page showing our working area.
Butterbache Road will remain closed at the junction of Chester Road to enable us to contain our welfare unit and equipment. This road closure will be removed 15 April 2024.
FAQ's
Severn Trent is investing more than £16 million to make sure that the city receives a reliable and sustainable water supply. One of the biggest investments the company has made in the city, it will see a brand-new water pipe installed from Boughton Water Treatment works to Huntington Water Treatment Works.
This project is vital in making sure we’re able to help keep the water flowing for all our Chester customers, and the work we are doing to install the new pipe will help us do that. We are working in collaboration with other companies to ensure that all work is done at the same time to minimise the impact on residents and visitors to the city and get everything done as quickly as possible.
With the increase of traffic that is anticipated due to the forthcoming roadworks on B5130, CWaCC will be reviewing the Traffic Signal timings. However, any changes to provide more Green Time to Caldy Valley Road would have a significant impact on the other major A roads which intersect at this junction.
Furthermore, the review will balance the traffic demands whilst considering the network priority of each road. Hence, any alterations will likely be of minimal benefit to Caldy Valley Road.
The Boughton Heath Traffic Signal Intersection is a complex junction of four major A roads, Caldy Valley Road & Pedestrian and cycle facilities. The junction is set up to operate as efficiently as possible whilst alleviating any congestion by adapting to traffic flows.
Pedestrian and cyclist access will be maintained throughout the work. Cyclists will be required to dismount and walk around our working area.
Access will be maintained to the school at all times.
CWaC have confirm that this route is not an appropriate diversion route - gate will remain locked.
We’ll be hosting a customer information event closer to our works starting in March, we’ll send you an invite as soon as we have secured the finer details.
There will be times when access to your property maybe restricted when we are working outside. The team on site will let you know in advance when this will happen.
We know it isn’t easy but to complete our work quickly if the area can be kept clear of parked cars, please.
More information to follow.
If you are, or know of anyone who may be vulnerable then please let us know and the team will work with them to meet individual needs.
All emergency services are aware of our work. We will continue to work closely with them to ensure they can arrive at their destinatations when required.
We have sent out 60,000 letters to a very wide area - the reason behind this is because we don’t know if people from different areas use the roads affected to visit relatives or maybe friends. Commuters also use these routes for their journeys to their place of work or to take their children to school.
All schools in the area have been contacted by email – they have been asked to contact us direct should they have any questions or concerns by emailing communitycomms@severntrent.co.uk. Schools are responsible for contacting their private bus and taxi services for children who use this method of transport.
Due to the size of the new water main and the machinery being used to install this in the road, plus the position of existing utilities in the carriageway we can’t maintain safety zones to keep everyone safe.
7 days a week - these are our proposed times below.
- Our teams will be working Monday to Friday 7.30am till 7.00pm
- Saturdays 8.30am till 5.30pm
- Sundays 9.00am till 3.00pm
Sometimes our teams may be set up but not visible on site. There can be lots of reasons for this such as:
- Waiting for or collecting equipment
- Finished and awaiting the reinstatment team to come along.
No changes. Please continue to put your refuse at the front of your property as normal.
Access to the car park is going to be maintained throughout our work so the public will still be able to use the Foot Ferry.
The Official diversion route is down to Farndon and will be signposted accordingly, however local alternative routes are available.
We’re carrying out important work to make sure the people of Chester have a great supply of water. As this is an essential requirement we aren't able to offer compensation other than to businesses through our Business Compensation scheme.
Sometimes when we’re cutting into the road or pavement it can create a lot of dust, even when we dampen it down. We try to let car owners know if they’re parked nearby but it isn’t always possible.
To help save time, some equipment is stored on site but will be safely barriered off. The soil/spoilt that we dig out is stored temporarily in a safe area and removed at regular intervals.
Once we finish our work another team will come along and tidy up and complete the reinstatement. We’ll endeavour to leave your street just as good as we found it. We’ll tarmac the trenches and re-seed the grass that we may have damaged.