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More than a year of traffic jams ahead
Queues of traffic on Seamer Road.
SCARBOROUGH motorists are to be blighted by road works on one of the town’s busiest routes for more than a year.
Seamer Road is at the centre of an £842,000 project to upgrade two ageing metal gas mains.
The road, which carries on average 13,000 vehicles a day, will be subject to road works until Easter 2013 under the scheme.
Northern Gas Networks are carrying out the project in a bid to bring an end to disruptive gas escapes that have affected the area for years.
The news comes just days after 24 homes had to be evacuated overnight and Seamer Road was closed completely when a worker damaged a gas main while working on the site.
The project, which will be the gas company’s largest single gas mains investment this year, will see the replacement of 2.4km of ageing 18in cast iron pipes under Seamer Road and Valley Road.
The work will be carried out in three phases, the first of which has been completed between October 2011 and January 2012, when new services pipes were laid connecting homes to the gas mains in the street.
Phase two is now underway, with two way traffic lights in place as workers replace two old metal gas pipes with plastic versions.
New pipe is being laid in around 100m sections between Seamer Street and Barry’s Lane and is expected to be completed by Easter.
The emergency pipe repairs this week are not expected to have set the project back.
Gordon Thompson, of Northern Gas Networks said: “We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by the gas leak in Scarborough this week and to reassure our customers that we are working with our contractor to ensure that we learn from this.
“It was, however, an isolated incident. We have a strong track-record when it comes to safely managing gas mains upgrade projects, successfully completing more than 600 such schemes every year.
“We are very aware that the work on Seamer Road is likely to be disruptive to traffic and we know that no-one likes to be faced with roadworks, especially over a sustained period. But, once it is complete, the area will have a safe, modern and reliable gas supply in place that will signal the end of the disruptive emergency repairs that are due to the age of the pipes currently in place.”
Motorists will be given a break from road works over the summer due an agreement between the gas company and North Yorkshire County Council, drawn up in a bid to ensure the work does not impact on tourism in the town.
Phase three will then start at the end of October, and is expected to be completed by Easter 2013 following a suspension of all work at Christmas designed to minimise disruption over what has been deemed a “critical point” in the year.
The level of road works required for this phase is yet to be agreed between the gas company and the county council.
Details of Phase Three:
This stage will get underway at the start of October this year.
Engineers will resume working on Seamer Road at its junction with Seamer Street and will progress towards St James Church.
When engineers reach the junction at St James Church, the two gas mains split at a fork.
The gas main heading down Valley Road will be replaced first, up to its junction with St James Road.
Engineers will then work on upgrading the main that continues along Seamer Road, up to its junction with Springhill Close.
The work is due to be completed by Easter 2013.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 26 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
asdfgh
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 06:33 PMAnother pearl from Renshaw woods proving again he knows nothing about Scarborough. The biggest robbery in Scarborough is the Mayor and his cohorts at the Town Hall.
Bluebird One
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 05:05 PM# 10 , Thank you Vera, my hero.
Herrmann
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 03:47 PMwhen has there ever been a time when there weren't traffic jams on seamer road - with or wothout roadworks
Atilla the Hun
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 02:52 PMI've just had a brilliant idea. Why not build a car park on Seamer Road and get people to leave their cars there and get a bus into town. Why has nobody has thought of it before.........?
Renshaw Woods
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10:46 AMThink local. Try another route. I do and even though it can be a longer distance it is quicker and cheaper than sat in traffic.
Earth Angel
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 09:10 AMI have worked off Seamer Road for the last 15 years and there has NEVER been a year without road works!
ReginaldVardy
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 07:45 AMYou are sadly deluded sir. The majority of residents rely on government handouts and the main source of income into our fine town comes from tourists.
revelation6:8
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 09:00 PMFor as long as I can remember Scarborough has been focused on the needs of the tourist not the local ratepayer. Why should the town throw so many resources into the dying tourist trade, when a large number of residents have nothing to do with this declining industry? I gave up on a town where hope and prosperity has died. I would urge anyone with ambition to leave before your hopes are smothered.
chrisgtk
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 08:33 PMI live a couple of miles outside of borough and run a business in the town, but I dont shop thereas its hopeless and the quality of the shops on offer are deteriorating fast. I tend to go to either Hull or York, much better shops and easy to park, and ride! I think that the local council are trying to destroy trade in the town probably so that it can be renamed Tescoborough....no thanks.
matt12345
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 08:12 PMShould leave the corroded pipes where they are. Much better to have an explosion than a set of traffic lights.
Mr Do!
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 08:04 PMWill go very well with the Marine Drive works.
valkaydunn17
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:10 PMSo - organisation via an endless detour to Queen Margaret's Rd should be said to those who have to get to Falsgrave to Crossgates & the reverse. Also the long-distance buses need to be factored in. Interesting how they expect to compensate everyone? Or NOT??!! Tourism??? A64 routes?? Oh dearie me!!
heavensentmum
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:31 PMThe Mayor is frightened that by using public transport they could get robbed. Welcome to our world.
shogun_showtime
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:23 PMFor free!!!!
shogun_showtime
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:20 PMAnyone want some circus tickets for tonights show? I have some that I can't use. Its for up to four folk! Front circle seats!
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