Leeds roadworks: Weeks of disruption on roads in Roundhay and Moortown as £2m Yorkshire Water pipe works starts
Miles of pipelines in Leeds that are “prone to bursting” are set to be replaced over the coming weeks as residents are warned of potential traffic disruption.
Yorkshire Water began a £2 million project to replace approximately 4.4km of water mains in Moortown and Roundhay on Monday (June 17), to improve the resilience and reliability of the area’s network.
The first phase will take place along Chelwood Drive for around four weeks, before moving on to Chelwood Crescent in mid-July. From August, the work will move on to Kedleston Road for around eight weeks.
A second team will begin work on June 30 on Shaftesbury Avenue for around five weeks, before moving on to Shaftesbury Road, Devonshire Lane, and Devonshire Crescent in August.
For the safety of residents, road users, and colleagues, there will be temporary traffic lights and footpath and road closures during parts of the work.
The removal of the pipes is part of Yorkshire Water’s £406m investment to replace more than 1,000km of water mains across the region over the next five years.
In Leeds, over 30km of mains will be replaced in the next year – with more to come in the remainder of the utility's five–year delivery period.
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Victoria Corbett, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We have a number of projects taking place in and around Leeds now, with schemes at Harewood and Methley progressing well.
“Pipes in these areas, and in Moortown and Roundhay, are prone to bursting – replacing them now reduced the risk of this happening, which helps to avoid supply disruptions, and save water, which is particularly important during the period of dry weather we’re having.”
Contract partners OCU Group will complete the project in phases, with two teams working at the same time in different areas to help get the work done as quickly as possible.
Victoria added: “We’ll be working quickly and doing everything that we can to keep disruption to a minimum whilst we deliver this important work. We thank everyone in the area for their patience.”