Blackpool summer roadworks warning as 15-week scheme set to begin on five key routes - full timetable

Work to upgrade some of the oldest working gas pipelines in North West England will take place over 15 weeks this summer in Blackpool.

Cadent, which manages the local gas distribution network, is calling time on ageing pipes that help distribute gas to heat thousands of homes. Sections are understood to date to 1892 and, while still safe today, they need replacing to ensure an ongoing uninterrupted supply – and to prepare for the introduction of greener gases.

In total, around 1,800 metres of old metallic gas pipes will be replaced with tough durable plastic. The pipes are mostly deep underneath the town’s roads – so the work will need temporary traffic arrangements for the 15-week project.

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Roads where work will take place include Whitegate Drive, Devonshire Road, Talbot Road, Church Street, Newton Drive, and other roads leading off these. It’s part of an £80m package of work announced by Cadent in April, as it continues with a 30-year programme to upgrade its older pipes.

Nearly 10km of pipes in the Blackpool area will be upgraded in Blackpool this year, and 420km across the North West.

“This part of the network is extraordinary Victorian engineering, but maintenance and repairs – and inevitable disruption to local community – has got too frequent in recent years,” said Mark Syers, head of Cadent’s Investment Planning Office, North West. “Our repair teams have been called out many times in recent years, some of which been the result of gas leaking from joints in the ageing pipeline.

“Every time, that means unplanned roadworks and disruption to motorists and residents. We have a responsibility to make sure every property that uses gas has access to a safe and reliable supply, 24/7, 365 days a year. We’ve worked closely with Blackpool Council to agree a week-by-week plan of work, and this will start on July 8.

“Working seven days a week, we will be finished and offsite in time for Blackpool’s illuminations big switch-on. We are very conscious of the disruption works like this cause and we are aiming to keep traffic flowing, with access to homes and businesses.”

The programme of work, which is subject to change, is as follows:

• Week 1 & 2: Junction Whitegate Drive, Church Street, Devonshire Road

• Week 3: Healey Street and Rossall Road

• Week 4 & 5: Talbot Road, near junction with Devonshire Road

• Week 6: Caunce Street

• Week 7 & 8: Devonshire Road

• Week 9 & 10: Whitegate Drive, near Hornby Road

• Week 11: Newton Drive

• Week 11 & 12: Talbot Road

• Week 12 & 13: Devonshire Road

• Week 14: Warwick Road

• Week 15: reinstatement and site tidy