Transport Road works set to continue for four more weeks

Road works at Transport Road by New Mole House in the South District are expected to continue for a further four weeks after “unforeseen ground conditions” caused delays of up to 10 weeks.

The works form part of the Eastside Sewage Transfer Scheme, a £1.88m project announced by the Government in September last year to future-proof Gibraltar’s sewage infrastructure.

At the time, the Government said traffic diversions would be in place in the South District for 12 weeks from October 4.

The section of works at Transport Road involves the installation of 98 metres of pipe at an average depth of 2.4 metres.

So far, the works have taken more than 22 weeks.

A Government spokesperson told the Chronicle: “The works currently being undertaken at Transport Road have experienced delays primarily due to unforeseen ground conditions, specifically the presence of significant rock encountered during excavations.”

“Given the restricted working space, the presence of existing underground services, and the inherently slow process required to safely break out rock, excavation activities have taken much longer than originally anticipated by the contractor.”

“The contractor has been working to mitigate and reduce the impact of these delays where possible.”

The spokesperson said ground conditions in other sections of the project, particularly along the northern section of Sir Herbert Miles Road, had been more favourable.

As a result, the contractor in that area had progressed at a considerably faster rate, with a substantial portion of the works already completed.

The Minister for Transport, Dr John Cortes, last week met representatives of the contractors, the office of the Chief Technical Officer and Technical Services to review progress and ensure the works were completed as soon as possible, the spokesperson said.

“Based on the latest progress updates from the contractor, the Transport Road section of the works is now expected to be completed in approximately four weeks, after which the road will be reopened,” the spokesperson said.

When the project was announced last year, the Government said it was needed because of population growth and the ageing of the existing infrastructure.

The project is intended to ensure Gibraltar’s sewage infrastructure can meet future demand.

The Eastside Sewage Transfer Scheme will be carried out in six phases across Gibraltar and is expected to take a year to complete.