Emergency gas pipe repairs cause chaos for commuters

Closure of stretch of Newhouse Road leads to long tailbacks and bus diversions – likely to last the weekend

Emergency pipeline repairs are causing travel chaos in Perth.

Newhouse Road was partly shut down early yesterday as engineers tackled a gas leak.

The closure, involving a 330ft stretch between the A85 Crieff Road and Grange Terrace, caused difficulties for motorists throughout the day, with lengthy tailbacks on surrounding streets.

Gas distribution firm SGN has warned the upheaval could continue into the weekend. The company was unable to say when the work would be finished.

Motorists reported journey times of nearly an hour to get from the edge of Perth into the city centre.

There were further problems when a vehicle broke down in the exit lane of Tesco on Crieff Road at about 4pm.

Bus passengers were warned that several services were having to be redirected to avoid Newhouse Road.

Diversions were set up along the A85 Crieff Road, Unity Terrace and Rannoch Road.

Dan Brown, spokesman for SGN, said: “Our engineers are carrying out urgent repairs to our gas main in Newhouse Road at its junction with Strathtay Road.

“To ensure everyone’s safety around our work area, we needed to close the southbound lane of Newhouse Road from Crieff Road to Grange Terrace.

“Motorists are unable to enter Newhouse Road from Crieff Road. A signed diversion is in place for motorists.”

He added: “We’ve completed several repairs to our gas main, but we have further work to carry out.

“It’s still too early to say how long our repairs will take, but it’s likely to continue into the weekend.”

Perth and Kinross Council has apologised for inconvenience during the essential work.

SGN is also working on repairs at Gannochy Road, on the other side of the city.

Engineers were called to the street after reports of a gas leak on Wednesday morning.

The work, which involves shutting down a stretch of street between Dupplin Road and Annat Road, is expected to continue until Monday.

Earlier this week, a programme of roadworks on Dunkeld Road – which caused days of delays – ended ahead of schedule..

To ensure everyone’s safety around our work area, we needed to close the southbound lane of Newhouse Road from Crieff Road to Grange Terrace. DAN BROWN, SGN SPOKESMAN