Work is due to start on an essential project to replace water mains in Foxton.

The project is part of our ongoing improvement programme resulting in the highest water quality and a reliable water supply to our customers and will see the old 4” water main replaced with a new 125mm high performance polyethylene water main, through the whole of Foxton.

When is it happening?

The work is planned to start on 18 January 2021 on the A10 at the junction with Fowlmere Road and Shepreth Road which will last approximately two weeks.  
The work will then continue north, 500 metres along the A10 for a further two weeks.

We will enter the village at the start of February 2021 where the mains will be renewed along Shepreth Road, High Street, Fowlmere Road and Station Road.  This phase of works is programmed for up to eight weeks to take us up to the Easter holidays, when we will prioritise the section of High Street leading to the school.

The final section of main to be renewed will be under the railway line and adjacent to the A10, just north of the railway line. 

The whole project will take about 20 to 24 weeks.

Check for updates.

Will this affect traffic?

In order to complete this work as safely and efficiently as possible, temporary traffic signals will be in place on the A10, followed by road closures on Shepreth Road and High Street, due to the width of the carriageway in the village.

We will ensure that traffic disruption and noise is kept to a minimum and access to residents maintained is at all times.

Click on the plan to enlarge:


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Will this affect my water supply?

We aim to complete the works with as little disruption to you as possible. However, we may need to turn off your water supply for a short period of time. If we do need to shut off your supply, we will provide as much notice as possible.

COVID-19 guidance

Our colleagues follow the necessary Government hygiene measures and we would be grateful if you would maintain the two-metre social distance rule if you are passing our workers, or if you need to talk to them.

Updates

22 January 2021

Work started this week as planned.

• Traffic management was installed along A10 Royston Road to allow our team to work safely while directionally drilling the new 125mm high performance polyethylene water main into place.
• Good progress is being made and approximately 400m of new main will be installed by the end of 22 January. 
• To avoid disruption to our customers' supplies, we also made a connection during the night to an existing 9" cast iron main. This will give us a water supply in order to test and clean our new main.
• Work will progress as planned next week into Shepreth Road.

4 February 2021

• We are working along Shepreth Road from the junction of the A10, just before Foxton village. We have had some good comments from customers who are amazed how the horizontal directional drill (HDD) process works and how quickly, and with minimal excavations, the new 125mm High Performance Polyethylene water main is being installed. In the first two weeks we have installed almost 800m.
• As we continue our work into the village the technique will change to traditional open cut construction in order to safely install the main negotiating the many existing pipes and cables. Hence installation will not be as swift.
• The traffic management on the A10 is due to be removed on Monday morning as planned.

19 February 2021

• Progress remains good in laying our new 125mm diameter water main; We have laid our main along High Street up to the junction of Station Road. We have been able to use more of the directional drilling technique which has resulted in better progress and less disruption than traditional open trench work. We have laid approximately 1.5km of new main since our project started.
• Next week we plan to focus on transferring customer services to the new main and completing reinstatement works.
• Our contractor has donated some vouchers to the village fund in order to plant more daffodils in the roadside verges as we appreciate that existing daffodils may have been damaged/removed by our works.
• Whilst we continue our works along High Street we would appreciate it if residents of Shepreth Road, West Hill Road, The Green, Caxton Lane, Malting Lane and High Street up to the Station Road junction would take access to their properties from Shepreth Road/A10 rather than driving through the village, past our works. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.

5 March 2021

The project is progressing well and we are ahead of our programme. This is mainly as we have been able to make more use of the directional drilling technique rather than slower traditional open trench construction.

• The section of work from the A10 into the village along Shepreth Road and High Street up to the junction of Station Road will be complete by the end of next week.
• We are currently working on Barrington Road, renewing the old 4" water main with new 125mm high performance polyethylene main.
• Our next significant phase of work will see us returning to High Street and Fowlmere Road, starting at the junction of Station Road and High Street and working towards Fowlmere Road finishing at the junction of Chalkhill. The work is planned to start on Monday 29 March 2021 and is expected to last approximately six weeks. In order to complete this work as safely and efficiently as possible, High Street and Fowlmere Road will be closed from the junction of Station Road to the junction of Chalkhill. We will ensure that traffic disruption and noise is kept to a minimum and access to residents maintained is at all times.

12 April 2021

The project is progressing well and is in line with our original programme.

As planned we set a road closure up on Monday 29 March to allow us to progress the current phase of water main renewal works in Foxton. This section of work is required in order to renew the old main with a new 125mm high performance polyethylene main on High Street/Fowlmere Road between the junctions of Station Road and Chalkhill.

Progress is a little slower than our previous works in Foxton as we have needed to revert to traditional open-trench construction, due to the presence of many existing services/utilities. However we have already renewed between Hillfield and Chalkhill and are now working our way along Station Road and Fowlmere Road away from the Station Road junction.  The majority of the renewal works on Barrington Road and the loop back to the A10 is also complete.

We will return to complete the renewal works from Barrington Road under the level crossing/A10 to Station Road which we are currently agreeing with Network Rail.

During our works we will continue to ensure that traffic disruption and noise is kept to a minimum and access to residents maintained is at all times.


Posted: 11 December 2020
Updated: 12 April  2021