Major engineering work to install a new gas pipeline on the A6 near Bolton is on track to be complete by the autumn. Cadent, which manages the local gas network, began installing the 3,000 metres of new pipe on the Blackrod Bypass in one of the biggest projects in the North West this year in February.
Huge sections of pipeline are being laid under the road surface between Chorley Road and Station Road. It will supply gas to a new property development nearby and meet demand from a new power generation site which will use gas to create electricity for the area.
It is also future-proofing the gas network ready for the arrival soon of hydrogen soon, a critical stage in the path to net zero. The update comes soon after Cadent revealed it is investing £80million this year to upgrade 418km of its older gas pipes in the North West, including more than seven miles within Bolton council’s boundary.
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Planning teams have worked hard to ensure all roads stay open, with traffic lights managing the flow of vehicles around the work areas. Mark Syers, Cadent’s head of investment planning office (North West), said: “This is one of our biggest projects this year and it is progressing really well.
“The team has installed more than half of the pipeline now. There are actually three pipes going in, and we are also installing a new governor station, to manage the pressure of gas as it flows through the pipe.
“This is a major engineering project, and needed both to keep gas flowing to the local area and keep the lights on. There are times in the UK when as much as 50 per cent of electricity comes from such gas-powered generation plants.
“Installing the new pipe also helps future-proof this part of the network, to ensure it’s ready to distribute hydrogen when that starts to arrive in the North West soon. Hydrogen is key to securing a net zero energy future. Our job is to ensure that gas can be carried in the volumes needed, and safely.
“We’ve worked hard to keep the roads open and are talking often to homes and businesses along the route, to keep them updated.”
Three new tough plastic pipes need to be added to the local network; one of which – at 630mm in diameter – is about the same diameter as a large car tyre.
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