Major road in Poulton shut over gas leak

A busy road in Poulton has been closed this afternoon - and is likely to remain closed '˜beyond the weekend'.
Blackpool Old RoadBlackpool Old Road
Blackpool Old Road

After days of tradffic chaos on Blackpool Rold Road, gas network Cadent has confirmed it has closed the road - both directions - to fix a leak on an underground gas main.

Its specialist emergency engineers were called out to the area on Sunday, after reports from people living locally that they could smell gas.

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Teams worked quickly to remove gas away from nearby properties, meaning evacuation was not necessary.

Gas mains work is under way on Blackpool Old Road, Poulton.Gas mains work is under way on Blackpool Old Road, Poulton.
Gas mains work is under way on Blackpool Old Road, Poulton.

They then set to work immediately to locate the source and fix it.

But it has proved a bigger challenge than expected, as they’ve detected readings 30 metres apart.

Since Sunday, they’ve restricted their work to one lane only, with traffic lights managing the flow of vehicles around the large work area, but now it has been closed completely.

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A Cadent spokesman said: “We tried to keep the road open, but it’s led to tailbacks in the area.

“So, we’ve agreed with Lancashire County Council that the best thing to do is to close the road completely, from this afternoon, between the junctions with Queensway and Rydal Avenue.

“There are other routes people can take to bypass the area and we will allow access to those residents who live in the closed-off area.

“We know this is very inconvenient, but hope people understand that we’re doing this to make sure the local gas supply is safe, which is our priority.

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“We are likely to be working on this beyond this weekend. Once we’ve found the leak, we can assess what’s needed to fix it, get the hole filled in and the road resurfaced, so that it can be reopened as soon as possible.”