Sewer works traffic chaos comes to an end

Damside Street bus terminal is now back to normal after a massive amount of work took place during sewage works.

United Utilities have undertaken a massive upgrade and improvement of the city’s sewage system, which has included building two new underground storage tanks, one beneath the bus station off Damside Street, and one beneath a section of the Parliament Street Retail Park car park.

They have also installed larger sections of sewer pipe along Damside Street and will now be working on phase four to install larger sewers in North Road and Rosemary Lane (A6).

A spokesman for United Utilities said: “The plan is to be off the one way system by Saturday, November 22, with traffic management and buses reverting back to normal.

“Thjs is great news and just in time for the big Christmas light switch on.

“Damside Street bus terminal is now back to normal after a massive amount of work took place here.”

Throughout the Lancaster project well over £20,000 has been awarded to community groups.

These include Lancaster Tennis Club, St John’s Hospice, The Fairfield Association and Grace Baptist Church to name a few.

In October, United Utilities agreed to donate £50,000 to help attract shoppers back to Lancaster following the traffic disruption in the city during sewer works.

Businesses located in the city were complaining that their takings were down as a result of the disruption of the one way system.

United Utilities said the £50,000 will not affect individual claims for loss of business.

A spokesman said: “Under the Water Industry Act we are obliged to compensate businesses for loss of profit which is directly attributable to the works being carried out.

“If we receive the required financial information from a business, compensation will be considered to minimise the financial impact placed upon them.”

During the part closure of the one way system, other utility companies and the council carried out essential maintenance and improvement work to avoid any further road closures in the near future.

United Utilities promised to continue to monitor the traffic management, and new signage could be put in place to further improve the traffic flow. Work is expected to be completed by April 2015.