Topic People, Projects
Date 27 May 2022
The team working on the Stroud Sewage Pipe Replacement for Severn Trent Water has launched its first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) officially christened Florence.
The TBM was named to celebrate the early arrival of baby Florence, the daughter of Severn Trent Community Officer Shannon Currall who has been working alongside the project team. TBM Florence will be used to install 1500mm diameter (ID) concrete pipes, forming part of the new trunk sewer network in Stroud. Using these tunnelling techniques will considerably reduce disruption caused to Severn Trent customers and the wider community over the coming weeks.
This £25million project will see the installation of over two miles of new pipes, upgrading many of the old Victorian sewers in the town, as well as removing the existing large sewer pipe that runs through the canal channel in Stroud.
The investment in Stroud will go a long way towards protecting the River Frome and other local watercourses, and the community is set to benefit from increased capacity and state-of-the-art technology that will protect homes in the area and completely transform the waste network that will last for generations.
Rupert Tagg, Project lead for Galliford Try, commented: “We are delighted to be starting the new tunnelling works in Stroud and we were delighted to mark Florence’s birth in this way. We wish Shannon and baby Florence all the best, and look forward to working with TBM Florence to deliver this scheme that will have a lasting impact on the local community.”