Major highway maintenance scheme is set to begin on one of the busiest shopping streets in Leicester city centre.
The city council will begin work on Monday 8 July to repair and revamp the central strip of pavement running along the full length of High Street.
The existing granite slabs will be removed and replaced with a mix of high-quality materials reflecting recently completely improvements in the historic Old Town area, most closely matching the finish of Peacock Lane by Cathedral Gardens.
Seating, trees and the existing smaller-sized granite paving along each side of High Street will be retained.
Remedial work is now urgently required as the central section which is regularly used by vehicles.
It is now in such poor condition that effective maintenance is no longer viable and large sections of paving have been replaced with a temporary tarmac surface to prevent tripping.
The scheme is expected to take about 12 weeks to complete.
The work will be carried out at no cost to the council following a legal dispute between the authority and the original contractors. This was settled in favour of the council in 2016, without admission of liability from the contractors.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “High Street is an important shopping street with stores that help attract people into the city centre to shop.
“Unfortunately, the street itself is not looking its best due to granite sets that have failed to live up to the demands of this busy area.
“It is essential that we now put this right in a way that will provide a long-term solution, revamp the look and feel of this important street and minimise the disruption to businesses in the area.”
Work will be carried out in small sections with pedestrian access maintained throughout the works. Businesses will remain open throughout the works, and marshals will be on hand to assist with deliveries within normal permitted times.
A future phase of work will also see the area around the Clock Tower and up to East Gates repaved in high quality porphyry.
Source : Leicester City Council