The flooded underpass on Second Avenue near St Marks School has been cleared following a joint three-day operation by Harlow Council, HTS and Essex Highways.
Although the underpass is now clear and accessible again, further work will be taking place over the coming days.
Following the recent success, Harlow Council and HTS will be stepping up to help resolve longstanding drainage issues across the town on behalf of Essex Highways.
Joining the teams on site was Harlow Council's cabinet member for environment and sustainability, Councillor Nicky Purse. Councillor Purse explains:
"For the last 3 days I've been on site with council staff, HTS staff and Essex Highways to resolve the flooding issue at the St Marks School underpass. The situation was a lot more complicated than we first thought. This has turned out to be a major operation that has involved work in two nearby housing estates to remove the blockage.
"The underpass is now clear, and the next steps are to install new gullies and more inspection chambers. On Monday HTS will be back on site to clear 30 metres of the Toddbrook river. We have had to apply for a licence from the Environment Agency to carry out the next phase of this work. There will also be work carried out to install new drainage.
"We could spend all day debating whose responsibility it is, but Harlow Council and HTS were happy to step in and support Essex Highways. All three of us have recently been working together to clear highways gullies and drainage around the town. In the end the situation with the St Marks underpass was major and required all three organisations working together to sort it out and there is more work which will need completing. It is a good example of partnership working."
"I would like to thank all the teams involved."