Tyldesley: major gas main upgrade work completed ahead of schedule

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Work to upgrade a major gas main that runs underneath Hough Lane, Tyldesley, has completed more than a week ahead of schedule – and the road will be fully back open later today.

Gas – which is used for heating the majority of homes in the local area – is now flowing through the new, durable plastic pipe. This has been inserted into the old metallic main, which had reached the end of its safe working life.

Starting on Monday (9th March), engineers had budgeted for two weeks to complete this work, suspecting they would need to ‘open cut’ the old main (cut out an entire 80 metre section and replace it). But, after digging down to the underground main and assessing its condition, they were able to use the quicker ‘insertion’ method instead.

For everyone’s safety, traffic has been unable to turn off Manchester Road / Sale Lane onto Hough Lane, as the teams were working in the carriageway. That restriction is being removed this afternoon, enabling traffic to return to normal.

Craig Horrocks, who heads the North West mains replacement programme of gas network Cadent, which commissioned this work, said: “I’m pleased to be able to say we’ve completed this work more than a week ahead of schedule. We made an on-site assessment that we could insert the new main into the old one – which is our preferred method to upgrade our mains. It’s just as safe, but much quicker.

“So, we’ve now installed a big new main that will keep gas flowing safely, on-demand, to thousands of local homes, and well into the future. Our thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding while we did this.”

Cadent manages all the 21,000 miles of gas mains which run under North West England, distributing gas to 2.7 million properties in this network. The vast majority of UK homes (around 83%) use gas for central heating. Gas networks will have a big role in supporting the UK journey to 'net zero' and Cadent is leading moves to introduce greener gases like hydrogen and biomethane.

Cadent

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. 

Future of Gas: 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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Media contacts

Kevin Hegarty

kevin.hegarty@cadentgas.com

07970 694897