Farnham's West Street is to fully reopen tomorrow (Saturday) morning after a four-month closure for works by South East Water.

The phased road closure has caused traffic gridlock in the town centre since late-January, coming as part of a £1.3 water network upgrade.

South East Water said in a statement to stakeholders today: "Following our recent updates I’m delighted to inform you that the new pipeline has been fully laid in West Street and we’re in the process of reinstating the road.

"We’re expecting this work to be complete today, and therefore will reopen the road to traffic on the morning of Saturday, May 27 ready for the Bank Holiday weekend. This is to allow the reinstatement to cure before putting live traffic over it."

There will, however, be traffic lights in place along West Street on May 30 and 31, on the town side of Crondall Lane near Old Town Mews, to allow testing of the new pipeline to take place.

Once this testing is complete, South East Water's teams will then move onto the next phase of work to lay the pipeline in private land around Coxbridge Farm and behind Coxbridge Industrial Estate, before connecting the pipe into the water main along across the A31 Alton Road and Runwick Lane.

The company's statement continued: "We will update you when we’re going to make this final connection as we get closer to this work taking place.

"Once again we are very sorry for the disruption this work has caused the town and businesses within it. Due to the complexities of the project it has taken far longer than anticipated and we fully understand the impact it’s had on the town and the frustration it has caused.

"We are working with key members of the community to put a marketing plan in place to attract visitors back to Farnham."

West Street, which is currently closed between the Bourne Wood care home and the Coxbridge roundabout, had been scheduled to reopen in late-April.

But citing engineering difficulties, particularly heavy utility congestion beneath the road surface, South East Water delayed the reopening for a further month until late-May.

The new pipeline will enable South East Water to pump more water into the town, ensuring customers don’t suffer with low water pressure or interruptions to supply as the community grows.

More information on the project can be found on the company’s website: southeastwater.co.uk/Farnham