Water Street overnight closures, as exploratory work begins

Exploratory work on water and sewer infrastructure below historic Water Street in downtown St. John's is set to begin on Sunday night.

Beginning at 11 p.m.,Water Street between Waldegrave Street and Bishop's Cove/Adelaide Street will be closed to traffic for a period of eight hours.

• Water Street to be torn up to replace century-old sewage, water systems
• Big dig nears for Water Street to replace century-old pipes

The project isexpected to take fourto six weeks to complete the tracing of water mains, and the confirmation of the location of underground electrical.

Sections of the street will be closed from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

Vehicles parked in violation of the overnight restriction will be ticketed or towed, the city said in a news release issued on Friday.

The work is in preparation of a big dig beginningin 2016 and extending for three years, which will disrupt the downtown core in order to upgrade century-old infrastructure.