April 4, 2014 2.17 pm This story is over 119 months old

Business as usual for Portland Street shops

Still open: Businesses along the currently closed Portland Street are reminding residents they are still open as usual.
The collapsed sewer. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Businesses along Portland Street in Lincoln are reminding people they are still open despite the road being closed after a sewer collapsed.

The incident happened along the busy street on April 3, during which a lorry drove over the affected area, causing the vehicle to create a hole.

The road was closed off while the vehicle was removed from the scene, but engineers from Anglian Water later determined the hole was due to the seer underneath collapsing.

This meant the company had to close off the road for the next couple of weeks to assess the damage and repair the issue.

However, Anglian Water is reminding residents that despite the road being closed, the businesses on the street are still operational and accessible to customers.

Emma Staples from Anglian Water said: “We’re sorry for the continued disruption while we work to repair the collapsed sewer under Portland Street, near the High Street, Lincoln.

“Today we have started to dig down to reach the sewer, after which we can start repairs. We’re working as quickly as possible and will be on site over the weekend too.

“We have spoken to each of the businesses in the area and want to support them as much as possible, so we are putting up additional signs along Portland Street and some of High Street to let people know businesses are open as usual.

“Diversions are clearly marked to make it as easy as possible for customers to find an alternative route in.

“Once again, we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this may cause but we thank people for their understanding while we work hard to return the situation to normal as soon as possible. We will continue to keep people updated.”