Truro gas works to end three weeks late due to ‘too soft ground’ and unexpected pipes

Residents and commuters who have been left grumbling and moaning for weeks as they sat in their cars waiting for yet another three-way light to turn green during roadworks will have to wait longer before it’s all resolved. Gas company Wales & West Utilities announced at the end of February a three-month program of work in the town “keeps gas flowing safely and reliably to local homes and businesses, keeping people warm for generations to come”.

At the time, it announced a start date of March 4 and said it was working with Cornwall Council to draw up a traffic management plan during the three-month works in Truro. At first there were four-way lights at the junction of St Clement Street, New Bridge Street, St Austell Street and Mitchell Hill.

Old Bridge Street was also closed to traffic in a north-easterly direction from the car park junction to the junction with St Clement Street. The final part of the work saw the installation of three-way traffic lights at the junction of Pydar Street and Union Street.

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All caused chaos in the city, with residents and commuters saying they were stuck in long queues of up to an hour at times. The work was due to be completed by June 12, but Wales & West has now confirmed it will continue for a while longer – because the ground was too soft and they discovered “surprise” utility pipes that weren’t on their maps when they dug. up on the roads.

The company has now given a completion date of July 4, which will be three weeks longer than originally anticipated. Wales & West also worked in the Falmouth Road area of ​​the town with temporary traffic lights.

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Wales & West Utilities Program Controller Abby Smith said: “Unfortunately, the ground conditions in the area were more difficult than we anticipated and the presence of other utility pipes that were not on our planning maps meant that our work was slower than expected.

“However, barring any other difficulties, we expect to be able to remove the traffic lights from St Clement Street this Friday (June 28) and Pydar Street next Thursday (July 4), which will then complete our work this part of Truro.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience that our works may have caused. We know working on busy roads like this isn’t ideal, but the work really is essential to upgrade the network and keep gas flowing to heat homes and power businesses in the area. , ensuring that the gas network is fit for the future and can play its part in providing reliable and affordable green energy.”

Anyone with questions can contact the Wales & West Customer Service team on freephone 0800 912 2999 or [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @WWUtilities or Facebook.com/WWUtilities.