- Upgrade to gas main in Ballam Road, Lytham, starts Monday (12th November)
- Road closure in place, with diversions, but all businesses nearby remain OPEN
- Work will fix issues with gas pipe and ensure safe and reliable supplies
Engineers will start essential work on Monday to replace a 500-metre stretch of old gas main under Ballam Road, Lytham. This will require the closure of this well-used route.
Gas network Cadent has made repeated visits to this ageing metallic underground pipe in recent years, fixing small leaks during work that causes local disruption each time.
Already in the schedule for an upgrade soon, the increased recent frequency of leaks – the last emerged only last week – has elevated the pipe’s ‘risk score’ to levels that now require urgent upgrade, to ensure everyone’s safety and maintain a reliable gas supply.
Contractors working for Cadent will begin this work on Monday, digging into the road to locate and then upgrade the pipe, using heavy machinery. There is not sufficient space for other vehicles to pass this busy work area safely, so a signed diversion – determined by the highways authority (Lancashire County Council) – will be in place.
Ballam Road will be closed between Peg’s Lane and West Moss Lane. Advance warning signs have been in place for a couple of weeks and customer teams have visited local properties, as well as sent letters to them. The work is expected to take four weeks.
Cadent is keen to stress that all businesses nearby remain OPEN throughout.
There should be no disruption to local gas supplies.
Craig Horrocks, who heads Cadent’s gas mains replacement programme in the North West, said: “We are inserting a modern new, durable plastic pipe into the old metallic main, which will stop the recurring leaks and keep gas flowing safely for many generations.
“We know our work will cause inconvenience, but the number of times we’ve had to visit this pipe recently – to complete the repairs – has just become too frequent.
“The latest leak, which emerged only last week, would require a road closure itself to permanently fix it, so our engineers have made that safe for now and will keep monitoring it until the mains replacement team moves in next week to start the upgrade.”
Cadent is the UK’s biggest gas distribution network. It ensures gas reaches 11 million customers, including 2.7 million in North West England. In this region, it manages a network of more than 21,000 miles of pipes – which, if placed end-to-end, would stretch from Lancashire to Sydney, Australia, and back again.