Pipelaying by Northumbrian Water on a £155 million project to upgrade the water network across parts of the North East is gathering pace around Barnard Castle.
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.
For the next stage of this major project, Northumbrian Water and its construction partner, Farrans Construction, will need to temporarily close a section of the B6278, north of the town, during the Easter Holidays.
Phil Thornberry, Water Asset Manager at Northumbrian Water, said:
“This essential project will protect and enhance our water supply network for customers across large parts of County Durham and into the Tees Valley, and represents a huge investment in the area.
“We are working hard to minimise the disruption and impact of the construction of this major new pipeline. We are sorry for the impact this temporary closure will inevitably have, but are hoping that by scheduling it within the Easter holidays, we can minimise that as much as possible.
“We will do everything we can to make sure people who use the road are kept informed and updated. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their patience as this work continues.”
The closure will be from the junction with Dent Gate Lane from Tuesday, April 2, to allow a pipe to be laid across the B-road as part of the overall pipeline. While a formal closure has been approved by Durham County Council until April 12, the team will be working hard to complete this work as quickly as possible and it is anticipated that the work should be completed and the road re-opened sooner.
A diversion route, approved by the Council and designed to give safe options for motorists to use roads of the same size or larger, will be signposted, with advance notice signage being put in place to inform regular road users.
Discussions are also ongoing with Durham County Council to determine the best options for crossing the A688, west of Stainton Grove, and the B6277, south of Cotherstone.
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