New Year gas mains revamp for Upton upon Severn

• New gas mains for Old Street, Upton upon Severn
• Temporary traffic lights and road closures will be needed
• Work is part of a £65 million investment in the West Midlands gas network

January will mark the start of a major project to future-proof Upton upon Severn’s gas pipe network and keep homes and business warm until the end of the century.

Starting on 8 January, local gas network Cadent will be renewing 1.2 kilometres of gas mains in Old Street, Church Walk, Court Street, High Street, Waterside and Backfields Lane.

The work is expected to take 15 weeks. The existing iron mains will be replaced with tough new plastic mains that will last for at least 80 years.

The project is part of a £65 million investment to renew 370kms of gas pipes in the West Midlands this year.

Steve Murray, who heads up Cadent’s gas mains replacement programme in the West Midlands, said: “We are investing in new gas pipes so that local people can continue to heat their homes and fuel their businesses safely and reliably for decades to come.

“To keep everyone safe we will need to use traffic management while we work in the road. We appreciate this will be disruptive and will do everything we can to minimise the disruption. We would urge people to bear with us.”

The existing metal pipes will be replaced with tough, hard-wearing plastic pipes which will last for at least 80 years.

The work will be carried out in four phases. It will start by the junction with Minge Lane, moving up Old Street to Waterside, before finishing in Backfields Lane.

Phase 1 will run in Old Street, from the junction with Minge Lane to the junction with New Street. It will start on 8 January and is expected to run until 23 February. The following traffic management will be needed:

• Temporary traffic lights at the junction of Minge Lane and Old Street
• Lane closure in Old Street, from Minge Lane to Backfields Lane. Temporary traffic lights in place to control the flow of traffic.
• From Backfields Lane to New Street, Old Street will be open to northbound traffic only. There will be a diversion route for southbound drivers.
• At the end of this phase a short section of Old Street will be closed to traffic, close to the junction with New Street.

Phase 2: Engineers will be working in High Street from 12 February to 6 April.

• Temporary traffic lights at the junction of Old Street and New Street and at the junction of High Street and Church Street
• There will be no access to Court Street from the junction of New Street, Old Street and High Street.

Phase 3: Engineers will be working in Waterside, from 19 March to 6 April. One section of Waterside, towards the bridge, will be closed to traffic.

Phase 4: Once phase three is completed, engineers will carry out the last phase of work in Backfields Lane. This is expected to be finished by the end of April.

It may be necessary to temporarily disconnect people’s gas supplies for short periods while their gas service pipes (the pipes that take gas from the main in the road to their homes or businesses) are replaced. People will be informed beforehand.

Cadent employees and contractors carry identification. Residents should always ask to see it before letting anyone into their homes.

If anyone has any enquiries about this work they should contact Cadent’s customer services team 0161 703 1000. To find out more about how Cadent replaces gas mains and how that affects residents and businesses go to www.bettergaspipes.co.uk.