A major milestone has been reached in a project that will keep tens of thousands of homes in Cumbria warm for decades.
Cadent’s multi-million-pound gas pipeline is now commissioned and distributing gas to buildings and other sites from Ulverston to Barrow-in-Furness.
After months of work – including the creation of a new 73-metre tunnel beneath Ulverston Canal – the new pipeline is now operational.
This means that homes, hospitals, schools, businesses and other sites are mostly now receiving their gas supply through the new route.
The switch from the old pipeline – which needed replacing after showing signs of deterioration – happened without anyone noticing.
That’s the big success story here,
said Paula Steer, Network Director for Cadent in the North West.
The fact that tens of thousands of homes are now being served by a completely new pipeline — and no one noticed the switch — is a huge achievement.
It’s a credit to the teams who planned and delivered this project with such precision.
Gas kept flowing, boilers kept running, cookers stayed lit – a complex engineering project delivered brilliantly.
This is big project and we have worked hard to minimise our impact on the local community and the environment.
The teams are already working to reinstate the land and be off-site, on schedule, around the end of October.
The new 850-metre pipeline runs mostly through fields beside Ulverston Canal, replacing an ageing pipe beneath the canal footpath that had begun to show signs of deterioration.
A key part of the project involved boring a 73-metre tunnel beneath the waterway, to carry the pipeline from one side to the other.
United Infrastructure is the main contractor delivering the project, working alongside specialist tunnelling contractor Joseph Gallagher Ltd.
The team has worked to a timeline that ensures completion before nesting season, with no disruption to local wildlife including otters and bats.
James O’Donnell, Operations Director, United Infrastructure, said: The safe completion of this complex engineering project marks a significant milestone, showcasing the hard work and close collaboration of everyone involved.
We are now focused on the final stage of the project, reinstating the land with minimal disruption to the local community in Ulverston.
Updates continue to be posted at https://cadentgas.com/ulverston.
Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network with a 200-year legacy. We are in a unique position to build on strong foundations whilst encouraging the curiosity to think differently and the courage to embrace change. Day to day we continue to operate, maintain and innovate the UK’s largest gas network, transporting gas safely and protecting people in an emergency. Our skilled engineers and specialists remain committed to the communities we serve, working day and night to ensure gas reaches 11 million homes from Cumbria to North London and the Welsh Borders to East Anglia, to keep your energy flowing.
Here at Cadent we support the Government’s plans to reach Net Zero by 2050. That means we’re backing the introduction of hydrogen as a low carbon alternative to natural gas for the future. We know people love the controllability of gas and, with our network already in place, it makes sense to switch to the lower carbon alternative offered by hydrogen, which we believe can keep homes and businesses warm for generations to come.
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