Residents and traders are waiting with baited breath to see if the now completed multi-million pound flood alleviation scheme for Ross-on-Wye can protect the town from flooding.
It has been a long haul for the scheme which has not been without its problems, most notably the need to change the machinery in the boring machine after it was discovered that it couldn’t cope with the material it was digging through. Despite the delays caused by this the scheme, which began in September 2007, was completed last month and is now up and running.
Funded by the Environment Agency and commissioned by Herefordshire Council, which was also responsible for appointing the contractors Edmund Nuttall, the project includes a 2.1m diameter bypass tunnel, an earth bund to create a flood storage area, two bridges, 150m of precast concrete culvert and general watercourse improvements.
It is hoped the investment will prevent the kind of devastation caused by the floods of recent years.
Councillor Brian Wilcox, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: “I am delighted this much-needed scheme is now complete and protecting homes in Ross from a repeat of the serious and devastating flooding which happened in 2000.
“I have been working for many years to get this scheme carried out and it was delayed many times due to problems with securing funding from the government so I am delighted to finally see the scheme come to fruition,” he added.
The tunnel, running between the Homs Road and Kings Acre car parks, forming an integral part of the flood alleviation scheme, was completed in September 2008 following the resolution of the tunnelling problems. Although the final project was completed in December, the contractors will return this month to complete some minor outstanding works.