Residents have been warned to expect disruption when work begins on a £100 million project to install a three-mile water pipe that will be big enough to drive a double-decker bus through .
The massive underground waterway is being installed to improve waste water collection and tackle flooding in the south side of Glasgow.
It will be 15ft 3ins (4.65m) in diameter and more than five times as long as the Clyde Tunnel. Work is expected to take three and a half years to complete, including preparatory work, mine working consolidation and utility diversion work.
Most of the work will be done by boring a tunnel beneath the surface and the sewer will follow a route that is mostly under three public parks, rather than residential streets and areas.
However, Scottish Water has warned some disruption will be inevitable while works are carried out and has started consulting people living in streets likely to be affected.
A spokesman said: "The tunnel, and its route through the parks, was chosen largely because it would minimise disruption to communities. Work of this nature can cause some disruption but we will make every effort to minimise any inconvenience.
"There are elements of the project that will require traffic management. This will be agreed with the relevant local authority roads department and police and residents will be notified in advance of the work.
"More details will be made available when a contractor is appointed and our plans are finalised."
The tunnel will start on the east side of Queen's Park and head northwards under Pollok Park and beneath the M77. It will continue under Bellahouston Park, and terminate at Craigton industrial estate, where it will join the existing network and where waste water will flow onwards to Shieldhall Waste Water Treatment Works.
Geoff Aitkenhead, Scottish Water's asset management director, said: "The Shieldhall tunnel will resolve large-scale water quality problems in the River Clyde and its tributaries.
"It will also provide aesthetic screening to overflows into watercourses such as tributaries of the Clyde and White Cart Water. It will also reduce the risk of flooding in Aikenhead Road and Curtis Avenue, Mount Florida and Robslee Drive, Robslee Road, Robslee Crescent and Orchard Park Avenue, Giffnock.
"The tunnel will increase capacity and alleviate pressure on the existing network by providing additional storm water storage."
The work, due to start in the middle of next year, is part of a £250m five-year programme of projects to upgrade the waste water network in the Glasgow area.
The upgrade, the biggest investment in the network since Victorian times, will improve river water quality and alleviate sewer flooding and deal with the effects of increased rainfall and climate change.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, welcomed the plan. She said: "The improvement of Glasgow's sewerage network is essential to its future economic growth, a cleaner environment and to resolve long-standing flooding issues. Scottish Water is providing one of the best value-for-money water and sewerage packages in the UK, to the continuing benefit of households and businesses throughout Scotland."
David Sigsworth, chairman of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, said: "The construction of the new waste water tunnel is an important part of plans to improve the natural environment of the River Clyde and alleviate sewer flooding in Glasgow.
"We have worked closely with Scottish Water to support the development of the long-term strategy for the Clyde catchment and look forward to further sustainable growth for Greater Glasgow as the plans are implemented."
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