Oldham town centre road closed due to gas incident affecting many

There will be delays starting today due to gas work being done on Rochdale Road in the Oldham town centre.

Cadent Gas started replacing ‘ageing’ gas pipes beneath Rochdale Road this morning.

They claimed that because the pipe has been in continuous operation for about 50 years, it needs to be replaced in order to maintain its current level of safety.

The road is still open, but at certain points traffic lights are used to regulate the flow of traffic.

Additionally, changes were made to the road’s layout to facilitate bus access and reduce traffic congestion.

It is anticipated that the work will take about four weeks, ending in mid-August.

“An increase in journey times is expected during the works, including for those travelling on Bee Network bus services,” stated Peter Boulton, Director of TfGM’s Highways Network.

“We advise customers to plan ahead for their travels and to visit the Bee Network website and social media pages for up-to-date information and guidance.”

“We are working with Stagecoach to modify services and run additional buses to limit the impact, and we are also working to reduce delays by adjusting signal timings.”

The work is a component of an £80 million package that Cadent announced in April as part of a 30-year program to upgrade its ageing pipes and prepare the network.

This year, over 7.5 km of pipes in Oldham and 420 km throughout the entire North West will be replaced.

“We have a responsibility to make sure every property that uses gas has access to a safe and reliable supply, 24/7, 365 days a year,” stated Mark Syers, Head of Investment Planning (North West), Cadent.

“This involves modernising our pipelines, especially the ones beneath Rochdale Road that are naturally coming to the end of their useful lives.

Since we are aware that this is a busy road, we have collaborated with Oldham Council to establish a work schedule that is updated weekly and to regularly assess the traffic control.

“This morning, we made some quick adjustments that should make it easier for buses to navigate the work area and lessen the amount of disruption that was occurring.”

Clients who have enquiries regarding the work can get in touch with Cadent by:

Call 0800 090 3071.

CustomerCareNW@cadentgas.com is the email.

https://cadentgas.com/contact-us/contact-form-nw is the website address.