The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks, is investing in Ilkley’s gas infrastructure this year to replace ageing metal gas mains with modern plastic pipes.

This is to ensure customers can continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply for years to come.

The works on the A65 Skipton Road, began on March 28, and will take 10 weeks to complete in total.

In order to minimise disruption to road users, NGN has been working very closely with Bradford City Council to monitor the situation, and this week engineers have made adjustments to the traffic management system to ease congestion.

The temporary two-way traffic lights on Skipton Road will be manned 12 hours a day and real-time reporting is taking place, so traffic updates can be relayed immediately and timings of the lights adjusted as required.

Engineers will be working between 7am and 7pm Monday to Friday and from this weekend, on Saturdays and Sundays as well in order to complete the scheme.

From Thursday, 14 April, the set of lights at the junction of Victoria Avenue and Skipton Road will be suspended and Give Way signs put in place on the Victoria Avenue side of the junction to help ease traffic congestion on Skipton Road.

From Monday 18 April, Victoria Avenue will be closed and a fully signed diversion put in place until Sunday 8 May.

Ian Cunningham, Construction Services Area Manager said:  “We fully appreciate that the A65 is a vitally important route for people in the area and we’ve worked very closely with Bradford City Council to plan these works and minimise disruption to motorists.

“Our number one priority is to complete this work as quickly and as safely as possible, so the two-way traffic lights will be manned 12 hours a day to allow road users to pass safely and keep traffic flowing smoothly while we carry out the work.

“This week we have also introduced real-time reporting on site, so we can relay traffic updates and adjust the timing of the lights accordingly.

“Our engineers will be working from 7am to 7pm to ensure the project is finished as safely and quickly as possible, and from this weekend, they will be working on Saturdays and Sundays as well.

“Our customers are extremely important to us and we’re continuing to listen to feedback from the community. If anyone would like to speak to the team they can contact us on 0800 040 7766 or email customercare@northerngas.co.uk.  We’d like to thank everyone for bearing with us while we carry out these essential works.”

Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.