A MAJOR road through the Malvern Hills will be closed for around six weeks to allow vital water works to take place.

Severn Trent is investing £60,000 to replace pipes under the A438 at Hollybush, which has suffered a number of bursts in recent years.

Engineers are due to start the work on Tuesday, January 24, to begin installing the new pipes.

To allow engineers to work safely and to keep other road users safe while the project is completed, the A438 will be closed for around six weeks. A fully signposted diversion will be in place along the A449 through Little Malvern.

Gareth Mead of Severn Trent said: “These new pipes will be a real positive for Malvern: in recent years we’ve seen a number of bursts that have caused disruption to local residents and this new project will help to guard against that in the future.

“We know how difficult it is to be without water which is why we’ve taken the decision to make this investment to upgrade our network.

“We know there is never a good time to close roads but this work is essential to improve water supplies in the area and we need to make sure we keep motorists and our workers safe.

“We’re really sorry for any inconvenience this causes and our engineers will be working as quickly as possible to install the new pipes and return everything to normal.

“Hopefully local people will understand the benefits these new pipes will bring to Malvern and the surrounding area.”

This work is part of Severn Trent’s £7.5 million investment for the area which will see improvements made to the waste and water network over the next year.

This includes the installation of a new underground water storage reservoir, and three miles of new water pipes from Cowleigh Road to Lower Wyche in Malvern.

After a break over the Christmas holiday, teams of engineers are working at Albert Road South and at Zetland Road using traffic lights for the next two to three weeks.