The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), is investing £74k to upgrade to the gas distribution network at Leeds Road/ Bradley Road in Huddersfield.

The essential works are due to start on Saturday 24 May and will last nine days. This is the second phase of an earlier NGN gas mains replacement project, which began in 2017.

The project is a continuation of NGN’s ongoing development of Huddersfield’s gas infrastructure, and involves replacing a small section of existing metal gas main with more durable plastic pipes, to ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas to customers for years to come.

This work has been planned closely with Kirklees Council to make use of the Spring Bank Holiday, in order to minimise impact on traffic.

The timings of the works will not impact the planned events taking place at the John Smith Stadium.

On Monday 13 May, a community drop-in event will be held at the Bradley and Colne Bridge Working Men’s Club, Colne Bridge Road, Huddersfield HD5 0RH, between 5pm and 8.30pm.

NGN engineers and the Customer Care team will be on hand to provide updates on the works, and answer any questions residents or local business owners may have.

In the meantime, NGN’s Customer Care team are continuing to speak to affected residents and businesses about the project, delivering letters detailing the timings of the works and the traffic management involved.

Due to the complexity of the engineering works involved, and to ensure the safety of our teams and members of the public, it will be necessary to introduce some traffic management measures during the scheme.

The following measures will be in place from 7pm on Friday 24 May until 5am on Monday 3 June.

• The eastbound carriageway of the A62 Leeds Road will be closed between the junction of Oak Road and the A6107 Bradley Road.
• The right hand turn into Oak Road from Leeds Road will be suspended, as will the right and left turns into Oak Road from Bradley Road.
• To keep traffic flowing smoothly from Leeds Road to Bradley Road, Oak Road will become one-way.
• Three-way lights will be used on Oak Road and Bradley Road to keep disruption to a minimum during the scheme.

Advance warning signs will be placed on the route two weeks before the scheme and NGN will use the permanent directional signs to direct traffic as much as possible and reduce the amount of free-standing signs along the routes. Where this cannot be achieved, signage will be put in place to direct the traffic.

The traffic management is likely to affect journey times, so motorists are advised to leave extra time for travel while the temporary measures are in place.

Updates on the works will be provided throughout the scheme via @NGNgas on Twitter and facebook.com/northerngasnetworks

Chris Nevison Business Operations Lead for Pennines, said: “We would like to thank all our Huddersfield customers for their patience whilst we complete this essential project, and would like to apologise for any inconvenience the works will cause’’.

For further information about the project please contact NGN’s Customer Care Team on 0800 040 7766 or email: customercare@northerngas.co.uk.

Anyone that smells gas or suspects carbon monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24-hours a day, seven days a week.