A “friendly giant” Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), measuring 1.8m in diameter, has arrived in Meadow Lane Portadown for use on a key £7.8 million NI Water wastewater network upgrade.
The machine, which has now commenced work, will help reduce disruption within the Meadow Lane area by tunnelling around 385m of the new sewer underground – right below our feet!
Meadow Lane will remain open throughout the tunnelling works, which will continue until summer 2024. By employing innovative trenchless (underground) pipelaying techniques, our contractor BSG can install the new larger diameter sewer without any impact to motorists or pedestrians in the Meadow Lane area of Portadown.
Only when the TBM machine needs to be relocated or removed and when pipe connections have to be made will traffic management arrangements be implemented. NI Water would like to thank the public and businesses for their continued support and assure them that we will provide advance notice of any future traffic management requirements.
Meadow Lane TBM (Back row: Norman Annesley McAdam, Conor Ward BSG. Front Row: Adrian Farrell, Chair, Portadown Chamber of Commerce, Lisa Hughes and Mark Mitchell (both NI Water).
At the centre of this major NI Water investment is the construction of a new wastewater pumping station which includes a 20m diameter underground storage tank capable of holding 1.5 million litres of stormwater.
This critical new wastewater infrastructure will support economic growth and future development in the area and deliver important environmental benefits for the community including reduced risk of out-of-sewer flooding and improved water quality in local watercourses through the closure of storm overflows.
