Work Starts Next Week on College Street Sewer Upgrade

An upgrade of the sewer and stormwater mains in College Street and Cambridge Terrace is due to start this Monday (7 April).

There will be minimal disruption to traffic, but motorists are asked to use alternative routes as speed restrictions will be in place while the work is going on.

Wellington City Council's Director of Infrastructure, Stavros Michael, says the work is required because the existing sewer and stormwater mains were identified for renewal as part of the Council's catchments pollution investigation works.

"The sewer main along College Street was identified as being responsible for polluting the adjoining stormwater," says Mr Michael. "When we looked into it further, we found the pipes to be in a poor condition with fat deposits, structural faults and joint displacements throughout the length of the pipes. The drain is more than 100-years-old and should be replaced."

"While this work is going on, the stormwater main will also be replaced. Doing it now minimises the overall cost and will prevent disruption to the area later on," he adds.

The stormwater main has structural faults and poor joints throughout the length of the pipes. Several large holes were also found mostly above the water line. The pipes are also more than 100-years-old.

The upgrade of both sewer and stormwater mains will mostly take place during the day. However, the upgrading of a section of sewer at the Vivian Street / Cambridge Terrace intersection will take place at night.

The work on College Street will take place between 7.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Saturday, while work on Cambridge Terrace will generally take place between 9.00am and 4.00pm on weekdays and between 7.00am and 6.00pm on Saturdays.

Work on Cambridge Terrace that is likely to affect State Highway 1 traffic will take place at night from 7.00pm to 6.00am, Monday to Saturday.

The upgrade is due to be completed in June.