Stretford: Road to reopen after more than 20 weeks of work

Cadent Gas closed Kings Road between its junction with Royston Road and its junction with Skerton Road on November 6.

The project started due to the smell of gas which workers traced to 200 metres of pipeline under the road. The leak was brought back under control but there was no option but to replace all 200 metres of pipeline as a result.

It called for some major modifications to the infrastructure around the pipeline, which serves tens of thousands of homes and other premises, all of which were connected to the network by a bypass over the course of the work.

The parts, some of which were in production for 12 weeks to 24 weeks, came from as far away as the Far East.

Cadent Gas said Kings Road is set to reopen for the first time in more than 20 weeks by April 1 "at the latest".

Paula Steer, its North West Network Director, said: "This has been challenging, critical work – even for our most experienced engineers – to keep people safe and to keep people warm in their homes through the winter. I know the closure has been disruptive and frustrating for motorists but I hope people understand what we have been dealing with here has been far from routine.

"I want to say thank you for everyone's understanding. We are into the final weeks of this now and we should have Kings Road open again soon."

Anyone with questions can contact Cadent Gas on CustomerCareNW@cadentgas.com or go to cadentgas.com/contact-us/contact-form-nw. 

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.