Commercial Road looks like the place to avoid at the beginning of next year as South West Water rip up the road to install a new sewerage system.

The main road through Penryn will have three way traffic lights for nearly three months while the work takes place from January 15 to March 28.

The company says it will also have to close Eastwood Road for the duration of the work for the safety of the public and the teams working there.

The work is likely to cause traffic chaos and long delays for commuters and other drivers. They also warn this type of work is noisy and produces dust, with pneumatic drills being used frequently.

All businesses will remain open and accessible, but going on what has gone before when roadworks were there, it could hit trade.

South West says its sewerage system is showing its age and is in need of upgrading. It says this is especially true of the sewer running from the pumping station in Penryn.

“Following a number of bursts in the past few years, it's reached the end of its working life and needs replacing,” they say.

“Recent upgrades to the pumping station and this replacement of the main will add resilience to the network and reduce the risk of pollution.”

The company says the replacement of the sewer will happen in stages, and it'll use a combination of techniques - open cut excavation, and lining.

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It apologises for the delays this will cause, and advise people that if they normally use this route for Falmouth, to use the bypass instead during this time.

The work will be done in two stages:

Stage 1: Commercial Road to Falmouth Road January 15 – March 28

Multi way traffic lights will be in place. We will be using open cut excavations, and lining in this area.

Stage 2: Eastwood Road at junction of Falmouth Road March 4 –March 28

Eastwood Road will be closed during this time. We'll be using open cut excavations in this area.

For the majority of this project, the company will be using open cut excavation - which means they'll dig a trench down to the pipe, cut the pipe out and replace that section. This type of work is noisy and produces dust.

They'll be using pneumatic drills, diggers and other noisy equipment to complete the replacement.

In other sections, they'll be using lining, which is when a repair happens inside the pipe itself.

“Unfortunately, due to the fragility of the sewer, we are unable to use this technique for the full length of pipe.”