Road users in Cookstown face six weeks of disruption from Monday 29 June as NI Water begins installing new stormwater pipelines and manholes on Union Street.

The multi-million pound scheme will separate rainwater from the combined wastewater network, reducing the risk of out-of-sewer flooding and increasing capacity for future development.

Initial lane closures will affect a section of Union Street, with restrictions moving to Molesworth Street later in the project.

NI Water Senior Project Manager Robert McLean identified the area around Molesworth Street as one of the highest priorities for stormwater separation. He said the work would remove over a hectare of drainage from the combined system, easing pressure on the local network and cutting the number of spills.

Pipelaying will start at the junction of Molesworth Street and Union Street and progress towards The Railway Bar over three to four weeks. A second phase will follow in the layby between Molesworth Plaza and Cookstown Hockey Club.

Access to homes, businesses and car parks will be maintained throughout. All traffic management will be lifted for the contractor’s summer break from 10 July to 27 July.

The Cookstown project forms part of NI Water’s wider Stormwater Separation Project, launched in 2023. To date the programme has removed more than 166,000 square metres of surface water from combined sewers, freeing capacity for around 600 new homes across Northern Ireland.