New technology helps prevent disruption to major commuter route in Liverpool

In July 2017 a sinkhole which spanned the M62-bound carriageway of Edge Lane near the junction of Beech Street, was caused by a section of collapsed sewer deep beneath the busy commuter route.
The major collapsed, closed a section of the dual carriageway for around six weeks, impacting commuter journey times.

To minimise the risk of it happening again, water company United Utilities has been using the latest camera technology to carry out an in-depth survey of the sewers running deep under Edge Lane.

During the survey the new camera equipment allowed engineers to spot a potential hazard which if left would have eventually impacted the road above:

“With over 77,000km of sewer network in the North West, enough to go around the world twice, monitoring a network of this scale is an immense task.

“This new piece of equipment allows us to survey our network much quicker than using the conventional methods of inspecting sewers, helping us to identify potential problem areas more efficiently, said James Devereux from United Utilities.

A crack team of specialist engineers set about completing the critical maintenance work on the sewer, using innovative no-dig technology and the current quieter roads to minimise disruption.

“The work that has been completed under Edge Lane we hope will have made the network more resilient for at least the next 100 years if not more”, continued James.

During the current COVID-19 crisis the Government has officially designated water and sewerage workers as ‘key workers’ in critical public service.

Given the importance of water for the public health, especially at this time, United Utilities is putting all its efforts into maintaining water supplies and sewerage services.

“During the work under Edge Lane people will probably not have even noticed us, but we will continue to have a visible presence on the streets of Merseyside, working for you, to maintain our networks and deal with any problems, such as this, that come up.

“If you do see someone repairing a pipe or dealing with a leak, please don’t approach them. In line with Government advice, like everyone else we’re all practising social distancing – our priority is to keep customers and colleagues safe,” added James