Investigation work began today (Sunday, January 17) on Grosvenor Road in Chester as part of United Utilities' plan to build a new £7m water pipeline to continue to supply customers in parts of Chester, Wirral and Ellesmere Port with fresh, clean drinking water.

Engineers working on behalf of the water company will work at the site in and around Grosvenor Road (the A484) over the next few weeks.

Dan Smith, United Utilities project manager said: "We currently have a water pipe running from Heronbridge pumping station, across to Chester Approach and up through Overleigh roundabout.

"This pipe was installed over 30 years ago, and to make sure we can continue to meet the demands of today’s population we need to support this pipe with a new one, which will follow a similar route."

The work is expected to take between three and four weeks to complete.

During this time the team will be testing ground condition to help plan the route of the new water pipeline.

To minimise disruption work will take place overnight. Temporary traffic lights are in place on Overleigh roundabout until Monday, January 18 at 6am.

Work is also taking place on Chester Approach and Eaton Road, which will take place during normal working hours with temporary traffic lights being used on Eaton Road.

Map showing proposed route of new United Utilities water pipeline in Chester
Map showing proposed route of new United Utilities water pipeline in Chester

"The main project is likely to start in April and will take around a year to complete.

Mr Smith added: We’re planning to carry out a considerable amount of the work via tunnelling, which will greatly reduce the risk of disrupting traffic."