Chester Drainage Tunnel – forthcoming closure of Nuns Road

As part of the current works in Chester city centre to install a new surface rainwater drain, Nuns Road will close on Monday 29th March 2021.

The closure is currently expected to last until January 2022, this is to allow for construction and operation of a drainage tunnel shaft at the Grosvenor Road junction.

As a result, only emergency vehicles will have access to this junction for safety reasons.

Access-only routes to Blackfriars, Nuns Road properties, Roomzzz Aparthotel and from the HQ Building/Abode Hotel car park exit will remain open to/from the Watergate Street direction only.

Pedestrian and cycle access along Nuns Road in both directions will be maintained during these works.

The Council’s is working very closely with the tunnel contractors to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum and the timescales can be kept subject to any unforeseen delays.

We greatly appreciate your patience while these works are carried out and apologise for any inconvenience.

For more details on the Clockwise diversion to the inner ring-road please see: www.clockwisechester.com

A new rain and surface water drainage tunnel is being installed in Chester city centre.

The work will regrettably result in some disruption to traffic, but will enable the transformation of the city centre for the benefit of residents and visitors for decades to come.

This is a major infrastructure project that will take approximately one year to complete and will have a substantial impact on traffic using the inner ring road

During the main construction period, from November 2020 for approximately 12 months, St. Martin's Way and Nicholas Street will be closed to southbound traffic from the Fountains Roundabout.

The most efficient and practical solution will be to make the inner ring road primarily two-lane clockwise one-way route for all traffic. 

It will run from Princess Street south along St. Martin's Way, Nicholas Street, Grosvenor Road and Castle Drive, and will end with a new outfall into the River Dee.

The drain will be almost 1km in length, 1.2m in diameter and require access shafts 5.5m wide and 7m deep. Over 85 per cent of the new drain will be installed via tunnelling rather than an open trench to minimise disruption above ground, but will require nine access shafts along the route for the tunnelling equipment to operate between.