The improvements to Newark's sewerage systems by Severn Trent could be finished by August.
AN EARLY end is in sight for a multi-million pound project to renew Newark's water and sewerage system.
The four-year, £60m project to improve the Severn Trent network began in 2016, but is set to finish up to a year early.
It happened because the town expanded with hundreds of new homes, leaving the network unable to cope with the increase in demand; putting hundreds of properties at risk of flooding.
A spokesman for Severn Trent said the bulk of the scheme should be completed by the end of August, 2019, ahead of the envisaged 2020 completion.
While there will be still some works to do, however, Severn Trent promises they will be low-impact and nothing akin to the disruption that the town has witnessed.
The improvements to the system by Severn Trent and its main contractor, BNM Alliance, will see more than 400 homes and businesses protected from sewer flooding and will future-proof water supplies.
In all, a total of 9,600 metres of new sewers, 1,500 metres of improved sewers and 12,500 metres of new and improved water mains pipework and fittings will be installed.
Tim Sawyer, programme manager from Severn Trent said: “We’re so thankful to everyone for helping make our project in Newark a huge success.
"Before work started, we worked closely with our customers and stakeholders from the early planning stages of the project and continued to work with them right through to the delivery of the project.
"Through valuable feedback from those in Newark, and great teamwork with our working partners, we were able to make improvements and changes to the way we work, that benefited the project, as well as our customers.
A huge boring machine, ‘Siege Breaker’ that weighs a huge 160 tonnes, one-and-a-half times as heavy as a blue whale, and 75 metres in length, was used to tunnel under Newark from Crankley Point sewerage works to Millgate.
The tunnel is wide enough to drive a Transit van through.
“This has been an incredible feat of engineering, that will ensure that everyone in Newark will have a reliable water and waste network, that lasts for many future generations,” said Mr Sawyer.
Due to the size and scale of the scheme, there was much disruption around the town, with multiple road closures causing traffic tailbacks and affecting local businesses.
Newark MP Robert Jenrick said: "This was a necessary undertaking, which will not be needed again for a few generations, but one that has had a huge impact on residents in and around our town with all the roadworks and traffic congestion that have followed.
"They also placed considerable pressure on retailers in the town centre, unfortunately coinciding with a particularly difficult period for the high street, as shopping habits change rapidly with the rise of online.
"We now need to focus on how we transition the town centre to the new reality, by focusing on independent retail, leisure and hospitality and making the town a great destination with its museums and historic buildings as well as somewhere that is clean, safe and welcoming at all times of day."
District council leader David Lloyd said: "I am thrilled the sewerage works in Newark are nearing completion and that life in the town can get back to normal.
"The council has worked hard to lessen the impact on businesses during the works but there has been some unavoidable disruption.
"Once the works are completed in August we can hope to see a positive economic impact and much happier motorists."
Wendy Shaw, who owns The Artisan Gluten Free Bakery on Chain Lane, said: "It's been horrendous, it's really affected our trade and I'm now looking to move elsewhere to out of town to a more convenient location.
"The level of trade we've had since the works began has been awful. And we're not on our own, other businesses have said it's the same for them."
