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Major works started on Monday (31st July) to replace 3.5km of gas pipeline under Straight Road, Old Windsor, which is essential to keeping homes in the area warm.
Cadent, which manages the local gas network, is replacing the pipe that runs directly under the A380, between the large roundabout where Straight Road begins (Datchet Road, Albert Road and Albany Road) down to the small roundabout junction with Priestly Hill (A328) and Windsor Road (A308).
The work will be completed in phases and the road will stay open, with temporary traffic lights controlling the flow of vehicles as we move our project down the road.
We have completed our work on Queens Close and Orchard Road and we are moving back onto Straight Road.
Last week we encountered some unforeseen engineering challenges which will cause delays to the current section of work.
Due to other underground utility pipes and cables restricting access to the existing gas pipe, we now need to rethink how we are going to complete this section of works and how we can safely replace the gas pipes. This means we will need to use alternative engineering methods. Rather than insert the new plastic pipe into the existing iron pipe, we anticipate the need to dig a trench the length of this section in order to replace the pipe.
You may not see anyone on site for a few days, however, we will be back once we have confirmed what our plans moving forwards will be and this has been agreed with the local highways authority.
We will continue to provide updates as soon as we have them. Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding.
Engineering work on the latest 120m section is complete and work to reinstate the area will take place over the weekend. The temporary traffic lights and pedestrian crossing will be moved along to the next 75m section of work on Monday.
Work to replace the 250m section in Queens Close is now also complete and work to reinstate the area will follow.
This week the team replaced a further 100 metres as planned. Work to reinstate the area began today and will continue over the weekend.
On Monday the existing traffic lights will be moved along to the next 120 metre section of work and a pedestrian crossing will be added.
We will also start work in Queens Close where a 250 metres of the existing gas pipe will be replaced.
This week a further 60m of existing gas pipe was replaced in Straight Road.
We were also able to complete an additional 100m in Queens Close.
During the weekend the team will complete the reinstatement works on both streets. This is planned to be completed by Monday.
We are planning to replace a further 100m under three way traffic lights. With 100m on Queens Close also being replaced.
Any customers affected by this work will have been informed.
This week the team replaced a further 65m of the existing gas pipe and the area this area will be reinstated by Sunday afternoon.
Once complete, the five-way traffic lights will be taken down on Sunday evening and replaced with a set of two-way trafffic lights. These will be turned on at 7am Monday morning, outside the Tobey Carvery, along with a pedestrian crossing.
The next phases of work will be a further 100m of replacement on Straight Road and 50m in Queens Close.
Due to some engineering difficulties, work on phase 3 of this project continued this week and was completed yesterday. Following this, the area will be reinstated on today and tomorrow before work starts on the next phase.
Phase 4 will begin with us digging a trench, approximately 50m in length from the junction with St Peter’s close, so that we can access the section of the existing gas pipe. This work will be completed under five-way temporary traffic lights.
Phase 2 – St Luke’s Road to St Peter’s Road along Straight Road will take a further week to complete under traffic light control
It is advised to find an alternative route or expect delays during this period of our work.
For the remaining 41 week project, the road is wider and we hope it will be less disruptive to traffic.
Phase 1 – From the roundabout to St Luke’s Road will be completed by Monday 7 August
Due to the nature of the work involved, we have planned to deliver it in a number of phases to maximise efficiency and minimise disruption.
In order to deliver the work safely, a road closure will be in place during the first three phases of work.
We will let you know at each stage the traffic management required for each phase. This could also include traffic lines and lane closures.
For a short time, yes. The works we are completing are on the medium-pressure gas pipes. This means we will need to turn your gas supply off and will require access to your property.
In the majority of cases, where we turn off gas supplies, this will be for less than one day, starting from approx. 7.30-8.30am until approximately 8pm at night. Most people are back on gas again by 7.00pm.
We do appreciate this is still a long time, so before we turn off the gas supply, our team will provide fan heaters and appliances for cooking to households where a person or people are registered on the Priority Services Register (PSR) or is identified as vulnerable by our engineers.
Our work to replace ageing gas mains is a major engineering project and we are working hard to complete it as soon as we can. Where possible we try to reduce the duration of our works and their impact. The project has been carefully planned with the local authority, so it is carried out as efficiently as possible. We use innovative methods and technology to minimise disruption and reduce the time taken to do this work.
The amount of road space taken up will vary throughout the project and will be minimised at all times. The scale and extent of this project and the size of the pipes mean we need to use heavy machinery and equipment. To allow us room to manoeuvre this equipment, and to maintain site safety, we need this amount of space. We also have to take account of the position of the existing gas mains.
Although it may appear that no one is working on site, it doesn’t mean that work has been completed. We need to be able to work at different locations to insert pipes, make connections and to carry out testing. It is only once we are satisfied that the new pipe is safely supplying gas to customers that we can fill in the excavation and clear up the site.
Once the work is complete, we will reinstate all excavations and trenches to nationally approved highways standards. We match the colour and texture to the existing surfaces wherever practicable.
Where possible we will also endeavour to remove the individual gas regulator (the green garden box) feeding your property.
There is a compensation scheme in place for small businesses that suffer genuine loss of trade due to our work. For a leaflet and details of the scheme please call 0800 389 5555.
The simple answer is yes, with the new plastic mains we are able to increase the pressure and carry more gas to deal with any increase in demand in the future.
To be more specific. the old metallic main currently runs at the lower end of the medium pressure system (550mb). The current main would allow us to raise the pressures slightly if we had greater demand although not much and this would potentially run the risk of causing leaks on any weak points.
By installing the plastic main we have the capability to up the pressure to the full 2Bar this is 4x the current pressure levels. The plastic main that we insert are tested at this pressure over a long period of time when they are installed to give us every confidence that should we ever have to run the system at the highest demand there would be no leaks at joints.
All work is being carried out on our behalf by Morrison Energy Services and their delivery partner Terrafirma Pipeline Ltd.
