Delays and diversions as Coventry road to stay shut for repairs
A road in Coventry[1] will be shut for days as Severn Trent[2] carry out repairs. A burst pipe tore open a massive hole on the street.
But repairs are taking longer than expected, and original plans to reopen it have been shelved. Now an emergency permit has been granted to allow officials more time to fix the problem - which will unfortunately mean more delays for locals and passing motorists.
In a tweet, highways officials said: "We have granted an emergency permit for Severn Trent Water to carry out repairs to Sewell Highway where a sinkhole opened up due to a burst pipe. Road closed - It is expected to remain closed until 1/8/23. Diversion is in place. Residents are advised to follow the diversions."
The sinkhole opened up in the early hours of Monday (July 25) morning around 4am. It awoke local residents and almost swallowed up a student's car.
Technicians from Severn Trent insist they are making 'good progress on the repair'. They say efforts to 'isolate the pipe and minimise damage caused' are complex but they say they have now fitted a new section of the pipe.
The Sewall Highway junction with Blackberry Lane was set to remain closed until tomorrow (July 28), but has been extended until Tuesday, August 1. Severn Trent have said they are sorry to anyone who has been affected by the burst.
They say they have made it their priority to repair the pipe and return the road back to normal as quickly and and safely as possible. Residents within the local area spoke out about how they were awoken by the incident[4] in the early hours of Monday.
Brothers Tommy and Oliver Roberts woke to noises and saw lots of debris on the road. "I woke up in the middle of the night and I heard noises outside like cars driving over gravel and sirens. I looked out the window and I saw a car in a sinkhole so I woke my brother and my mum and then we heard the water leaking out all down the highway," Tommy said.
His brother Oliver added: "I could see loads of bits of gravel and stones on the floor. Tommy pointed to the sinkhole and there was a big red car in a massive hole. I am not sure how the hole came up but I think it happened in the middle of the night. Police were there and I heard lots of shouting."
Student Agshaniya Ramesh, who owns the red car told CoventryLive[5] that her car is a 'write off': “It is not like it is an odd day that I have parked there. It is always there, and nothing like that has happened ever before. I saw the damage and I thought I am not getting my car back. It is a write-off."
Severn Trent Truck Mains Team Manager, Kevin Hatch said: "We’d like to thank everyone for their continued patience as our teams continue to work hard to repair one of our larger pipes that burst yesterday morning on Sewall Highway in Coventry[6]. Our teams are making good progress on the repair and have now fitted a new section of pipe. They will soon start to return the road back to normal once happy with the repair.
"The road will remain closed to keep everyone safe. Again, we’d like to apologise to anyone affected by the burst and subsequent road closure, and we appreciate everyone’s understanding as our teams work hard to return the area back to normal as quickly and as safely as possible."
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References
- ^ Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ Severn Trent (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ Coventry road to shut for days for sinkhole repair as Severn Trent issues update (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ spoke out about how they were awoken by the incident (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ CoventryLive (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
- ^ here (data.reachplc.com)
- ^ Coventry (www.coventrytelegraph.net)