A Durham city road is expected to remain closed for a “few days” after water main burst and flooded the area.
Around 3,000 homes were affected after a water main in Saddler Street burst on Friday morning. Water could be seen gushing down Saddler Street towards the Market Place and onto Elvet Bridge.
Businesses, including Greggs, were forced to shut for the day. The incident sparked a huge response from Northumbrian Water with engineers and multiple vehicles on site to carry out repairs.
Northumbria Water have said the repairs are expected to be completed on Friday evening, but the road is likely to remain closed for a “few days”.
A spokesperson for Northumbrian Water said: “Since around 7am this morning (FRI), our teams have been working hard following a burst on a water main on Saddler Street in central Durham.
“Initially, around 3,000 customers water supplies were impacted, however following a complex re-zoning operation carried out by the teams, all supplies have now been restored.
“We isolated the burst quickly, but are still working hard on clearing the flooding and standing water left behind. The road has been closed to vehicles to allow us to do this safely and so we can carry out our repairs, however the path will be reopened to pedestrians within the next few hours.
“We expect repairs on the water main to be completed tonight, but the reinstatement of the road may take a few days. We have been working closely with the local authorities and also have been offering support to local businesses who have been impacted by the flooding.
“We know how devastating flooding can be, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We would like to customers for their patience.”
Durham County Council, which shared the video, urged residents to “bring your wellies” if they were heading into the city centre.
A spokesperson added: “Northumbrian Water told us about a major water leak on Saddler Street as a result of which we’ve closed the road between Market Place and the Magdalene Steps while work to stop the leak is carried out. Pedestrian access is still possible so you can still access all the businesses in the area – but you’d be wise to bring waterproof footwear.
“The road closure is within the city’s Controlled Parking Zone so sees limited traffic anyway but access will be maintained for emergency vehicles.”
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community for all the latest news County Durham news sent direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumbrian-water-update-after-durham-31202991
