PLANS to reduce the flood risk of Earith Causeway are expected to be announced soon.

The Environment Agency will present Cambridgeshire County Council by tomorrow (Thursday) with solutions to resurface the road and raise low points that are most likely to flood. The work is not designed to stop Earith Bridge from flooding, which is it designed to.

The council intends to carry out the proposed improvements at the same time as a £350,000 bridge reinforcement and strengthening project that starts on Friday and is expected to last six weeks.

Most of the work will take place at weekends, when the bridge will be closed. Weekday off-peak working will be controlled by traffic lights.

Councillor Tony Orgee, county council cabinet member for community infrastructure, said: “This important maintenance work will help keep the bridge in good condition and stop it from suffering damage as a result of the very wet conditions in the area.

“We are also working with the Environment Agency to explore how some areas of the road surface can be raised to avoid the problems caused by low level flooding incidents while still allowing the flood plain to operate as it should when more serious flooding occurs.”

Councillor Steve Criswell said the money for works to reduce flooding of the Causeway would come out of the county council’s highways budget. He expected the full details to be announced in the next week.