THAMES Water says it is making “good progress” on repairs at a site in South Reading.
It comes after a major sewer collapse took place in Bennet Road, which the water provider says has cost more than £1 million in complex repairs to fix.
Thames Water says a trunk sewer deep beneath the road collapsed, as major repairs got underway at the site back in October, with part of the underground network in need of maintenance.
However an already complex set of repairs was made more treacherous after further investigation at the site found a sink hole at the site.
Since, the company has excavated 250m3 of soil to dig an 11m shaft down to the sewer in Bennet Road and has pumped more than 150 tonnes of grout into 136 bore holes to enable skilled engineers to safely repair the collapsed sewer.
Teams say that groundwater caused the soil beneath the sewer to sink and resulted in its collapse.
During preparation work, Thames Water discovered two sinkholes and other issues with the soil that required more stabilising for the safety of businesses and people in the area.
Further complicating the project is the issue of wastewater flowing into the neighbouring Stadium Sewage Pumping Station, as engineers cannot safely enter the pipe until that has been diverted.
The engineers will have to crawl inside the one-metre-wide sewer to seal it off and this can only be done once the sewage has been diverted.
Thames Water opened up part of Bennet Road for traffic turning left on to the A33 to ease disruption in June.
As progress continued towards the full repair, Thames Water also applied for the partial road closure to remain in place for the next six weeks.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “When dealing with complex repairs, the safety of the public and our team is of course our top priority. The ground around this sewer is incredibly soft, making it a challenging operation.
“We must also divert wastewater in the area before we are able to put in new sections of sewer. This is a high-risk operation and our preparations are based on ensuring the safety of the public, local businesses and our team.
“We would like to thank people for their understanding and patience they have shown.”
A firm timeframe for when Thames Water expects the work to conclude has not been laid out.
