5 months of roadworks for tidal flood defence work

Work to install a new tidal flood defence wall along Embankment Road will begin next week.

The £340,000 scheme, which is funded by the Environment Agency through a Flood Defence Grant in Aid (GiA) allocation, will replace the existing railings along the Plym estuary with a new solid limestone wall.

The scheme, designed for Plymouth City Council by its highways contractor Amey, will help to protect the currently exposed area from rising tides and significantly reduce the risk of flooding there.

Works will start on Monday 10 February and take up to 21 weeks. During this time a partial lane closure will be in place on the inbound side of Embankment Road (the side nearest the Plym). The closure, on the inside lane, will run from the Lipson (Old Laira Road) junction to just before the Plymouth Amateur Rowing Club clubhouse.

The right-hand turn from Embankment Road into Lanhydrock Road will also be closed for the duration of the works, with localised, signed diversions in place. Motorists needing to get to St Judes and Mount Gould can either leave Embankment Road early via the slip-road onto Old Laira Road or head down Gdynia Way and onto Cattedown Roundabout.

A similar scheme for Longbridge Road in Plympton, also bordering the River Plym, will get under way a fortnight later. The £270,000 scheme, which is also funded by the Environment Agency through a Flood Defence GiA allocation, will include a flood defence wall, a non-return valve on the river bank and additional drainage improvements along Longbridge Road.

To enable these works to take place, Longbridge Road will be closed to all traffic from Monday 24 February for around 12 weeks. The Council has written to local residents and diversions will be clearly signed.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “Embankment Road and Longbridge Road suffer from frequent flooding issues and we are pleased to be working with the Environment Agency to strengthen flood defences in these areas. We appreciate these works will be disruptive, particularly in the case of Embankment Road, but it’s crucial that we take steps to reduce the risk of flooding in these areas and help ensure the future resilience of Plymouth’s road network.”