Lowestoft road to reopen a week ahead of schedule as emergency sewer repairs are completed

Earlier investigations revealed that a manhole had dropped into the sewer below the road. Picture: Nick Butcher (Image: Archant � 2017)

London Road South was closed on September 12 to allow repairs to be undertaken after a manhole dropped into the sewer, and was initially expected to take three weeks to complete.

One lane of the road had been closed from Mill Road to the A12 since the end of August after a problem with the sewer was reported, but last week the whole road was blocked off for further repairs to take place.

However Anglian Water say their engineers have been working extended hours and using the latest technology to complete the work early, meaning the road will be reopened tonight.

Simon Love, Anglian Water head of collection services, said: 'We know how disruptive roadworks can be, that's why our teams have been working extra hours to complete the repairs and get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

'The repair itself was complicated due to its location and the depth of the damaged sewer pipe but our engineers have used a special method which allows us to repair and reline the sewer at the same time, minimising the amount of road we need to dig up. This technique allows us to complete the work faster and get the road reopened quickly.'

The closure caused concern for a number of business owners based on London Road South, who were worried about losing passing trade.

Ashley Powell, manager at Mandarin Cycles, said during the closure footfall of customers had dropped to basically nothing.

Mr Love added: 'We're pleased to have finished the repair well ahead of schedule and would like to thank local road users, residents and businesses for their patience while we've completed this vital work and apologise for any inconvenience caused.'