United Utilities engineers working on £6.5 million repair work to replace a sewer under the Mancunian Way following damage caused by a sinkhole have reached a major milestone this week.

The tunnelling of a new sewer underneath the carriageway has just been completed, meaning an end to the work is now in sight and on target to be finished by the end of May.prior to the road being fully reopened.

The United Utilities team now needs to connect the new tunnel to the rest of the sewer network and transfer the sewer flows from the temporary by-pass pipework which is running above ground. The deep concrete shafts that were built to give access for the tunnelling machinery will then have caps fitted over them to support the road surface.

The carriageway and surrounding areas will then be reinstated ready for the road to be reopened.

The carriageway collapsed last August after heavy rain caused a sinkhole to open up, damaging a major Victorian sewer underneath the road.

Engineers were unable to repair the old brick sewer due to unstable ground conditions, so a brand new sewer has been built at a cost of £6.5 million using tunnelling techniques. The old sewer has been stabilised with concrete and will be abandoned.