TRAFFIC disruption is expected from tomorrow as emergency repairs are carried out on one of the main arteries into York.

Engineers from Yorkshire Water are set to begin investigating and repairing a problem with a section of sewer pipe which runs beneath Blossom Street.

The problem has led to a number of incidents in the last year when raw sewage has flooded up through a drain close in the street.

A spokesman from Yorkshire Water said: “Whilst the exact problem is not known at this stage, it is thought that a blockage of some description, possibly concrete, has led to waste water escaping from the pipe in recent days.

“The section of sewer where the problem is thought to lie is 40 metres from the Holgate Road traffic signals. To address it, the team needs to excavate a small section of the right hand lane on the A59 on Blossom Street.”

Last August, The Press reported members of the New York Working Men's Club had witnessed sewage floating along the gutter past the club entrance, before washing down another drain, and the club estimated that the stink over a period of a week had cost them about £1,000-worth of business, and forced the cancellation of meetings.

The work is due to start tomorrow, with no definite end date yet announced, and will see one lane of the road closed completely to road users for the duration of the investigation and repairs, but the Yorkshire Water spokesman said engineers would attempt to keep disruption to the public to a minimum.

He said: “It will be necessary to close a section of the right hand lane, though the left lane of this dual carriageway will remain fully open.

“The team would like to reassure all road users that they will do everything possible to minimise disruption, including starting work only after the morning's rush hour has ended, and complete the job as quickly as possible.”