Gas Boost for Pontefract

JULY 31, 2008

Work is due to begin on a major project to renew the gas mains in the Mill Hill area of Pontefract.

The £54,000 scheme will begin on Monday August 4th and is expected to take around five weeks to complete. It will see almost half a kilometre of old metal gas mains being replaced with modern plastic pipeline which is safer and more reliable. Once in the ground, the new pipes will have a lifespan of around 80 years.

During the project, it will be necessary to reduce Mill Hill Lane from three lanes down to two. Temporary traffic lights will also be in use to help keep traffic moving.

The work has been planned with Wakefield Council to take place during the school summer holidays to help minimise the disruption to traffic. It will be carried out by engineers from United Utilities and Morgan Est on behalf of Northern Gas Networks.

Chris Gorman, Network Operations Director for Northern Gas Networks said: “We know no-one likes being faced with roadworks but this work is absolutely essential to ensure the on-going safety and reliability of gas supplies in Pontefract. We will do everything we can to keep any disruption to an absolute minimum.

“Where possible, we will be using the very latest technology to help minimise the amount of digging we need to do in the road and keep the duration of the project as short as possible.”

The work will begin on Mill Hill Road close to the traffic lights and will progress up the hill to the junction with Mayors Walk.

This year Northern Gas Networks will invest more than £3.8 million in the Wakefield area to replace around 36km of old metal gas mains.