Cathedral Street sewer repairs in Glasgow city centre to take another two months to repair

A busy road in Glasgow city centre is expected to be closed for another two months following a sewer collapse.

Scottish Water is carrying out emergency repairs on Cathedral Street after a Victorian egg brick sewer was found to have collapsed, causing voids beneath both sides of the carriageway.

The road was closed on April 1 with an excavation revealing “numerous” cables and pipes, as well as a significant amount of concrete.

It is now expected that the repairs will take up to 12 weeks to complete.

Cathedral Street excavation Scottish Water

A spokesperson for the publicly owned utility said: “The damaged Victorian egg brick sewer is more than three metres deep, but unfortunately, because of the heavy clay soil and presence of numerous cables and pipes, progress has been significantly slower than expected.

“We have also found a significant amount of concrete in the excavation site, which must be carefully broken out and removed, as there may be other power cables or other utilities encased inside.

“There is always a degree of chance when breaking ground in the city centre, but in this case, we have been hit by a triple whammy of clay, concrete and cables.

“Given these challenges and the necessity for multiple excavations, it is clear the work will take significantly longer than we first thought.

“We will do everything we can to complete the repairs and reopen the road as quickly as possible, and would like to thank everyone affected for their continued patience and understanding.”

Cathedral Street from above Scottish Water

Cathedral Street remains closed between North Hanover Street and Montrose Street with a signed diversion in place. A temporary Bus Gate suspension is also in place at Cathedral Bridge.

Local access to North Fredrick Street, North Fredrick Path, Martha Street and John Street is being maintained, and traffic control operatives are on site 24 hours a day to monitor the situation.