Pipelaying on Northumbrian Water’s £155m upgrades to its water network reaches a key milestone this month and customers are being advised of a temporary road closure that is required to make this possible.
To enable the pipeline to connect with Lartington Water Treatment Works, pipelaying will take place next to the water production site from Tuesday, May 28. This will require a temporary closure of the B6277 outside the works.
Northumbrian Water’s Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley will see a total of 57km of new water mains laid from Lartington to Gainford, and across to Shildon and Long Newton, securing reliable and resilient water supplies for around 200,000 customers.
While a formal closure of the B6277 has been agreed from May 28 to June 5, the team from Northumbrian Water’s partner, Farrans Construction, will work hard to complete the work as quickly as possible, potentially allowing the road to re-open sooner.
The closure has been planned and agreed with Durham County Council to take place in the school holidays to reduce the impact on road users.
An approved diversion route, agreed with the Council and designed to give safe options for motorists, will be signposted, with notices in place for two weeks ahead of the closure, to give advanced warning to regular users of the road.
The company is funding a temporary minibus service as a replacement for the number 95 and 96 buses. This will be operated by Weardale Travel, with timetables available on their website and on their Facebook page, along with notices along the route.
Discussions are also ongoing with Durham County Council to determine the best options for crossing the A688, west of Stainton Grove, later in the year.
Phil Thornberry, Water Asset Manager at Northumbrian Water, said: “This crossing represents a key part of this essential project, allowing us to connect to Lartington Water Treatment Works – the source of the water that will be fed through the pipeline to around 200,000 customers across County Durham and the Tees Valley.
“We continue to work hard to minimise the disruption and impact of the project and are grateful for the understanding and support of customers so far. This crossing will inevitably have an impact for people living in the area, but it is hoped that the scheduling of the work during the holidays and the efforts of the team to minimise the time the work will take, will reduce this as much as possible.
“Prior to the closure, we will be carrying out work to make sure people who use the road are kept informed and updated and we once again would like to thank our customers for their patience as this major construction project continues.”
Customers can keep up to date with the project, and sign up to receive updates on our community portal following the links to the page for Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley.