Isle of Man £450k water main upgrade to take six months

A £450,000 project to replace an "increasingly unreliable" water main will take six months, Manx Utilities has said.

Work on the 1.5-mile (2.5km) pipe at Ballakilpheric Road in the south of the island is set to start this month.

First laid in 1968, the replacement pipe would remove the need for regular repairs to bursts, the firm said.

The road is set partially close in stages to maintain access to nearby properties during the works.

The authority said the existing pipework, from the Colby Main Road to the junction at Lyngague, was at the "end of its asset life".

Connections to other water distribution mains are set to be made during as part of the project, linking it to mains at Cronk-Y-Dhooney, Ballakilpheric pumping station, and the pipe recently laid to Upper Scard.

A spokesman for the government-owned utilities provider said the scheme would also allow for sewer condition investigations to address any defects and the replacement of manhole chambers and covers.

Rolling road closures would be needed so contractors could "work safely on the narrow stretch of highway" and for access to properties to be maintained from "one side of the active work area", she added.

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