Main road set to re-open after collapse

A collapse on a section of St Davids Road North took workmen longer to fix than first thought.

Officials from water firm United Utilities have apologised to residents and road users after work to remedy the collapse of a section of St David’s Road North took longer than first thought.

Workmen from the firm were called in after Lancashire County Council closed the road at the beginning of this month following the collapse, between St Leonard’s Road and Ryeheys Road, and diversions were set up, including a rerouting of the No 17 bus between St Annes and Blackpool.

The company initially hoped to have its staff off site within days but the work turned out to be more complex than initially thought.

The collapse is the latest in a number of sewer problems in St Annes, but investigations by United Utilities have shown that none of the problems are linked.

A spokesman for the company said: “We’re sorry for any disruption our work has caused anyone using St David’s Road North.

“We initially set up a working area to carry out some general maintenance on the sewer pipe running along the road. A separate working area was then put in place to deal with a collapse in the road, which required us to dig down to our sewer pipe to carry out some repair work. On investigation, the repair was more complex and required a large area to be dug out, which caused the delay.

“We have now completed this work and are in the process of reinstating the road.”

The spokesman added: “We will be packed up and out of the way by Friday, July 26 and we would like to thank everyone for their patience during this work.”

Sewer issues have affected town before

The collapse at St David’s Road North is the latest in a number of issues with the swers in St Annes.

In September last year, a crater opened up in the pavement of Westgate Road, St Annes, following months of complaints from residents about the state of their drives.

Back in 2010 a pot hole in St Annes forced police to close a section of St Albans Road.

A massive one metre wide hole suddenly appeared in the road. It too was caused by a sewer collapse.

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