Update: Queens Drive, Liverpool – emergency road closure after discovery of gas leak

• Gas leak prompts part closure of Queens Drive, at Walton, since Tuesday
• Cadent working 24 hours a day; teams working three metres below ground
• Advice issued to supporters heading to Everton’s home game vs Tottenham

An emergency closure of part of Queens Drive, Liverpool, is expected to continue into next week as gas engineers work round-the-clock on an urgent repair.

Cadent, which manages the local gas network, issued an update today on their work to pinpoint and then fix a leak on a pipe that runs three metres below ground.

Due to the size of the ‘excavation’ – now at 9 metres by 3 metres, and deep – they had option other than to close Queens Drive’s lanes heading southbound (towards the M62), at the junction with Townsend Avenue.

Cadent has been working on this 24-hours a day and, while progress is being made, is now expecting the work will continue into next week. This will impact traffic heading away from Everton’s match with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night.

Checks continue to be made of nearby buildings and Cadent is satisfied everyone is safe. But this urgent work must happen now to make sure it stays that way.

Dale Martin, Cadent’s Customer Operations Area Manager for Liverpool, said: “This is very challenging engineering, and our absolute priority is keeping everyone safe, always.

"The size of this excavation is up there with the biggest I’ve been associated with in my 14 years working for the company.

"That brings additional challenges, to ensure the safety of everyone involved in working at the site.

“We know it’s not ideal, closing a busy road like this, but we trust and hope people understand we’re doing all we can to get this sorted as quickly as we can.

“We really do appreciate everyone’s patience. I’d also like to say thank you to the local business owners, and schools, who we have been updating daily.

Dale added: “We were first alerted to this by a member of the public reporting in a smell of gas. They did exactly the right thing – calling the national gas emergency service on 0800 111 999 so that it could be checked out by our teams.”

If you smell gas

If you smell gas during this work, nearby or anywhere, always ring the national gas emergency service immediately, day or night, on  0800 111 999*. Do not delay, or assume it’s related to this work. It may not be and must be checked.

Cadent in the North West

Cadent operates four of the UK’s eight gas distribution networks – North West England, West Midlands, Eastern England and North London.

Its North West network stretches from the Lake District to Crewe and is home to 21,000 miles of distribution pipes (most of them underground) and hundreds of above ground installations. If placed end to end, that amount of pipes would stretch from Liverpool to Sydney, Australia, and back again.

Around £800m will be invested in the North West’s gas network over the next five years. This will maintain safe, secure supplies to homes, hospitals, schools, offices and other sites, as well as support the UK journey to net zero carbon emissions.

Backed by Cadent and many partners, the North West region is set to lead the way in a major shift from fossil gases to hydrogen. Producing only heat and water at point of use, hydrogen is key to the UK’s net zero future and is set to be introduced at volume in the North West during the 2020s.