West Midlands Gas Alliance is advising motorists using the Lichfield Road in Bloxwich that new traffic restrictions will come into force this month.
On Monday, April 21 the A4124 Lichfield Road, between its junctions with High Street and Foundry Lane, will be reduced to a single lane. This will happen in several phases. Traffic flow will be controlled by temporary traffic lights. The work is expected to take 23 weeks to complete. During this time there are likely to be major delays in both directions.
The work is part of a major project to replace more than 2.5 kilometres of old metal gas pipe with a new durable plastic pipe.
National Grid project manager Stan Best said: “We are replacing the existing main with a new durable plastic pipe that, if undisturbed, will last for around 80 years and require little or no maintenance. We realise this work will cause some inconvenience to motorists but we ask them to bear with us. This is a short term inconvenience for a long term benefit and will help to ensure that residents can continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply.”
The work is being carried out on behalf of National Grid by West Midlands Gas Alliance. The Alliance is a partnership of two companies, National Grid and Morgan Est plc, a major utilities contractor.
The project is part of National Grid’s 30 year programme to improve the safety and reliability of the gas supply network by replacing all metal gas pipes that lie within 30m of property.
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For further media information only, please contact Jane Taylor, National Grid Communications, on 07785 220647.