Road closed due to emergency gas work

A busy Sunderland road is to be closed off to motorists for a week as emergency gas works are carried out.

Sunderland City Council has said a section of the A1018 Commercial Road, next to Hendon Gas Works, is to be closed for seven days from 9am today.

It says the closure is necessary for emergency repairs by Northern Gas Network (NGN) to its gas main, which is located two metres deep in the centre of the road.

Diversions will be in place via Ocean Road, Ryhope Road, Villette Road and Corporation Road as the work is completed.

In February 2019, gas distributer in the North of England NGN confirmed it was beginning work to decommission the gas holders in Hendon and said it would be complete by the next month.

It followed a 100 years of service by the holders as they helped supply gas across the country.

However, with more modern technology and a greater capability of network, they were no longer in use.

The work to remove the three holders at Hendon was part of a programme to remove 47 from its network.

As they had been part of the city’s landscape for such a long time, it appealed for anyone with memories or photographs to share them to mark the change.

*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.