Portsmouth's Eastern Road to be closed as repair works start tomorrow, Southern Water confirms

Eastern Road will be closed southbound between Farlington Roundabout and Anchorage Road from 8pm tomorrow (December 14) and it will remain shut until December 17 as the repair work is carried out over the weekend. It follows the traffic chaos of last month when repair work was carried out for another section of burst pipe which took longer than expected to fix.

The latest burst water main incident was reported on December 6 which resulted in Southern Water attending the site with a tanker to clean up the road and remove any excess water. One lane has been closed over the bridge into the city ever since. Originally, the water company did not think it would be able to start repair work until after Christmas due to ongoing gas maintenance in a nearby road,however it has now confirmed it will start much earlier.

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A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “The repair work is scheduled to start at 8pm on Thursday 14 December to avoid the Pompey matches when there is a higher volume of traffic expected in this area. Colas engineering company will need to close Eastern Road southbound, from Farlington Roundabout to Anchorage Road, throughout the works so we can carry out the repairs safely. The plan is to complete works by the end of the weekend and diversions will be in place.

"Before the road is reopened there will be a period of time with no workers on site while the concrete cures, this is an important part of ensuring the road is ready to drive on. We are working closely with the Highway Authority, Portsmouth City Council and their partner that manages the network, Colas, to minimise the impact on road users wherever possible. We are sorry for any disruption this will cause residents, businesses and commuters.”

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