A MAJOR scheme to raise a vital city centre road and reduce the risk of flooding has been revealed.
The plans will see New Road, between Cripplegate Park and Worcestershire County Cricket Club, raised to reduce the likelihood of it being closed by floodwater in the future.
It forms part of a series of highway flood schemes being rolled out by Worcestershire County Council’s Highway Drainage Team.
The scheme has been devised to keep the city moving after Worcester experienced four major floods in the last 18 years.
In the most recent incident in 2014, the River Severn reached a record level of 5.69 metres – five centimetres higher than the 2007 floods.
More than 40 properties in the city were flooded and dozens more left under water in the surrounding villages following the 2014 deluge.
The heavy rain also rendered many of the city centre’s major roads impassable, dealing a devatasting blow to many traders.
New Road is in the firing line because of its proximity to the River Severn and to the county cricket ground which is often flooded.
As part of the planning application for the plans, an exhibition is being held at The Hive for a week from Friday (December 2) to show the serious flooding Worcester has witnessed in that part of the city, and how the scheme plans to reduce the risk it has on New Road in the future.
If the application is successful then construction work on the scheme will begin in Autumn 2017.
Christian Bird, project officer for the scheme, said: “While we can never predict how much water there will be, this scheme will keep the road open for longer during flooding and it will alleviate some of the problems faced by people trying to get in and out of the City.
“We are aiming to keep people moving without the need for the shuttle buses that we’ve had to use in the past and to ensure that Worcester stays open for business.”
Mr Bird will be at The Hive from 11am to 1pm on Friday (December 2), 11am to 1pm on Saturday (December 3) and 5pm until 7pm next Wednesday (December 7) to provide more information and to answer questions.
* What do you think? E-mail [email protected] with your views.
