Cottenham High Street on the B1049 is closed in both ways to motor vehicles until December 10 due to sewage upgrade works.

The first stage of the £200,000 Anglian Water project, which includes relining or replacing the sewer along the High Street, will take four weeks to complete.

Most of the repairs will be carried out using a relining system that creates a pipe within a pipe.

This process involves a specialist fibreglass liner which is inserted into the sewer, inflated by air and cured in place with ultraviolet lights.

Meanwhile, other sections will be replaced using traditional open trenches.

The company will use an overground pipe to divert sewage while they work and to ensure customers are able to continue to use their facilities.

This will be constructed from a manhole on the roundabout on the High Street to the junction with Rooks Street.

The team at Cottenham Community Fire & Rescue Station have also urged people to be "considerate" when parking near the fire station.

They said: "We understand the next few weeks with the road closures in place are going to be difficult for us all.
"Please do not park on the yellow hatched area outside the fire station.

"We need access 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to emergency calls.

"Please leave as much room as possible across the road from the station.

"The turning circle of our fire appliance is not as good as a car. Thank you for your co-operation and sensible parking."

Andy Barnes, project engineer for Anglian Water, added: "This proactive sewer refurbishment will repair damaged sections of sewer and, crucially, avoid having to complete more extensive emergency repair work should the sewer collapse.

“To keep our colleagues and the public safe, and in agreement with the local Highways Authority, we will need to close the High Street for through traffic between Broad Lane and Rooks Street.

"Access will be maintained for local businesses, their customers, and residents and we’ve created parking spaces within the road closure to facilitate residential parking. A full diversion route is in place too.

“We know people were concerned about the disruption this work might cause, so we want to reassure them we’re doing all we can to minimise this for local people and businesses.”

Further work is planned for early 2022.