A YEAR of work upgrading a town’s gas supply pipes will involve a series of traffic management measures that will cause ‘Minimum disruption’ according to Wales and West Utilities who will carry out the work throughout 2018.

Work began in the Church Street and Conigar Crescent areas of Usk and on the pipeline that joins Little Mill to Usk on January 2.

Usk businesses, particularly those on the Town’s main shopping thoroughfare, Bridge Street, have been assured that the work will be carried out sympathetically, with their needs uppermost.

At the time of going to press, Usk Town Council were meeting to discuss the planned works and consider how best to support local businesses and residents throughout the period of maintenance.

Wales & West Utilities programme controller for the area, Francis Kirk, stated, ‘Our work in Usk is essential to keep the gas flowing to heat homes and power businesses in the area and to make sure the gas network is fit for the future.

"In agreement with Monmouthshire County Council, and so that road users, pedestrians and our colleagues are kept safe while we work, traffic management systems will be put in place during the scheme. We have worked closely with Monmouthshire County Council to plan the best way to complete our work while keeping disruption to a minimum.

‘Working in areas like this is never easy but we will work as safely and as quickly as possible to make sure that we get the job done with minimal disruption for local people.”

The work will involve upgrading 6.5km of old metal pipes to new plastic ones. It will also involve upgrading individual supply pipes to more than 300 homes and is predicted to be complete by Christmas 2018.

Much of the work to private dwellings has been made necessary to ensure the safety of the supply infrastructure. Plastic pipes are more economical to install and last longer than metal ones being impervious to corrosion and deterioration.

A spokesman for Wales and West Utilities stated, “When we upgrade the individual supply pipes to homes we will need to turn the property off gas. Each property will typically be off-gas for no more than four hours, and the time and day of each interruption will have been discussed with the occupants beforehand. ‘

The £808,000 overhaul is necessary to ensure local homes and businesses continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply to the area for years to come, state the company.

A spokesperson for Monmouthshire County Council reiterated the message that the work was essential stating, ‘When the work is completed Usk will have a safe and secure gas supply fit for use for many decades.’

Wales and West Utilities state they have a 30-year gas pipe investment programme which began in 2002. Old metal pipes within 30 metres of buildings are being upgraded to new long-lasting plastic pipes with a lifespan of more than 80 years, to make sure homes and businesses continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply now and in the future.

The company have installed an information line so that townspeople and customers can get updates on the progress of the renovations.

They can be contacted on; freephone 0800 912 2999 or [email protected].