WORK to upgrade the sewerage infrastructure and substantially reduce the risk of out-of-sewer flooding in the Finaghy area of South Belfast is underway with the arrival of NI Water's new Tunnel Boring Machine.

Over ten feet in length the machine will be used in a major £8million flood alleviation project in the Marguerite Park area and pave the way for future works in Sicily Park.

Work on Phase One of this major infrastructure project is underway within the grounds of Musgrave Park and Musgrave Park Hospital, and the overall project will take up to two years to complete.
 
The machine will help reduce disruption within Musgrave Park/Musgrave Park Hospital and Malone College by tunnelling around 800m of the new sewer underground, part of which will be under the main Belfast to Dublin Railway line, avoiding the need for any closures. 
 
Mark Sefton, NI Water Project Manager, said they were delighted to welcome the arrival of the TBM on this major flood alleviation project and looked forward to putting the machine into operation.

“The machine will remove approximately 4,000 tonnes of soil, equivalent to 250 full lorry loads of earth from below the ground, while users of the park and hospital will be unaware of what is happening below their feet. Tunnelling will also significantly reduce excavation works, and avoid the use of 21,000 tonnes of new stone fill, saving around 24,000 litres of fuel in transportation.
 
“NI Water would like to thank the public for their ongoing patience as construction progresses on this major project. Once complete, the local community will benefit from reduced risk of out-of-sewer flooding in the Marguerite Park area for many years to come.”
 
Welcoming the scheme, Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon added: “I was pleased to be on site for the arrival of this major piece of machinery to really appreciate the scale of this £8 million project. This represents a huge step forward in a project where the benefits to people are as large in scale as the machinery used to make it happen. Once complete it will help to reduce out-of-sewer flood risk whilst minimising disruption during construction."

The overall project involves constructing over 1.3km of new large diameter sewer from the ‘Grovelands’ area of Musgrave Park, through the park grounds, Musgrave Park Hospital and Malone College, crossing under the railway line and through an area of private land into Diamond Gardens/Marguerite Park and Donegal Park.