Relief as major operation is fix for main road gas leak
STUART PIKE
BOSSES have thanked motorists for their patience after an operation to locate and fix a leak on a metal gas pipe buried deep under a busy Valley road was completed.
Temporary traffic lights have been in place for several weeks as engineers battled to repair the leak on Newchurch Road, Bacup.
Crews first responded several weeks ago to a routine report of a smell of gas, but the source turned out to be far from routine. It was eventually found 30 metres from the house where the gas smell had first been reported.
The ‘leak’ was actually two small leaks on the same joint of a 20-inch metal low pressure gas main, buried 2.3 metres under Newchurch Road.
Although the leaks were not a safety risk, they had to be fixed. A specialist company was brought in by Cadent – the local gas network, formerly called ●● The complex repair on Newchurch Road, Bacup National Grid Gas Distribution – to make bespoke steel parts to encapsulate and stop the two leaks.
The parts were fitted on May 12, with the deep hole then filled in and the road resurfaced over the weekend. This enabled the lifting of temporary traffic lights which had controlled the flow of traffic for four weeks.
Cadent Gas apologised for the extended repairs and said access to them was made more of a challenge because the leaks were at exactly the point where a newer, plastic 20-inch medium pressure pipe crosses over the top of the older metal one.
In a statement, they said: “The depth on the pipe meant extra precautions – such as shoring up the walls of the trench – had to be taken to ensure the safety of the repair teams working below the ground.
“Gas supplies to homes and businesses in the area were not affected at any time and teams remained on site every day, while the steel parts were made, to ensure there was no risk to safety.”
Mike McNamara, Cadent supervisor, said: “This is a low pressure pipe distributing gas to homes and businesses in the local area, for heating and cooking. It is normally 100 per cent reliable. In this case, there were two very small leaks on a joint. They were tiny escapes, which did not compromise safety, but we did need to fix them.
“This was a really complex repair, first to find the source of the leak and then to fix it.
“We know it’s been an inconvenience to motorists and people who live in the area. I can only apologise for that and thank everyone for their patience.” ●● Graham Albinson and Coun Anne Cheetham with the cheque, joined by chairman of Edenfield Horticultural Society Carol Foster, vice chairman Dorothy Stewart and other members THE new owner of the Coach at Edenfield (formerly the Coach and Horses) has raised £888 for improvements to the village Memorial Garden which is further LEVELZ takeover The Haxan Cloak along Market Street.
The money was raised at The Coach at Edenfield’s relaunch night following a refurbishment. Owner Graham Albinson presented a Holly Herndon Kojey Radical cheque to local councillor Anne Cheetham, who is president of the Edenfield Horticultural Society, the group that looks after the garden. Paleman Colin Stetson Tickets from £12* 0843 208 1840 mif.co.uk #mif17