£10m roadworks bring months of misery in Stafford
Months of roadworks have started on a main road through Stafford as a £10 million revamp of water pipes is carried out.
There are three-way traffic lights at the junction of St Thomas Lane and Tixall Road until the road is closed next week.
Tixall Road will be shut between Blackheath Lane and St Thomas Lane from September 29 until December for Severn Trent to install 12 miles of new pipe.
Traffic will be diverted along Blackheath Lane and Weston Road.
The road outside the main entrance to the crematorium will be shut to traffic, but Severn Trent says people will still be able to get in.
It is the latest disruption to hit Stafford – two months of work caused chaos on Beaconside during the summer.
Severn Trent bosses say that they need to take action to cope with the hundreds of houses being built – including 346 for soldiers and families at the MOD's Beaconside barracks.
The firm is also investing another £5m to upgrade two sewage pumping stations and to install new sewers.
Ruth Farrell, from Severn Trent, said: "It's really important to us that our customers receive a reliable service, so we're investing a total of £15m to improve both the water and waste networks.
"The water pipes in Stafford have now grown old and they're prone to leaks and bursts.
"When this happens, drinking water supplies can be affected.
"To help stop this from happening, we're investing £10m to install more than 20 kilometres of new water pipes, which will run from the Shugborough area into Stafford town centre.
"Work, which will be carried out by our contract partner, Amey, will start in September on Tixall Road and then on the A513 from Milford into Stafford town centre a little later in the autumn.
"We'll be using traffic lights as much as possible to keep roads open, but unfortunately, to keep the community and our workers safe, we'll have to close roads in some cases."
