About our work
We're replacing the old metal gas pipe in Garratt Lane due to a history of leaks from this section of our gas network. Once the old metal pipe has been replaced, we will be able to ensure that we can continue provide a more reliable gas supply.
The work is progressing, and our engineers now need to excavate at the junction of Earlsfield Road and Garratt Lane. To ensure the safety of everyone around the work site, we will need to close this junction from Monday 25 November. Access will be maintained for residents and signed diversions will be in place.
Penwith Road will remain closed from the junction with Garratt Lane to the Terrace, and Magdalen Road will be closed at the junction of Garratt Lane although we will be carrying out some reinstatement work at this junction which will hopefully ease the traffic in Garratt Lane.
Once the work in Earlsfield Road has been completed we will need to close Algarve Road at its junction with Garratt Lane.
A signed diversion will be in place via Swaffield Road, St Ann's Hill, Earlsfield Road, Trinity Road, Upper Tooting Road, Garratt Lane.
We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience during this work. We understand that people can get frustrated by roadworks, and therefore we only use traffic management that we feel is efficient enough to complete these works safely for everyone.
Update - Friday 20 December
Our engineers are continuing essential network upgrades in the A217 Garratt Lane area to ensure nearby properties continue to receive a safe and reliable gas supply.
We faced gas pressure issues south of Earlsfield Station while trying to carry out an operation earlier this week. Our engineers noticed this drop in pressure, and quickly aborted the operation, to avoid thousands of properties from losing gas supplies. To overcome this situation, we have installed a temporary 120-metre above-ground pipe to maintain gas supplies and carry out our network upgrades. Unfortunately, this does now mean our engineering work won't be completed as planned by Monday 23 December.
Our teams will continue working until Tuesday 24 December, before temporarily pausing for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The site will continue to be manned during this period to ensure the site remains safe and traffic can safely pass the temporary lights that will remain in operation. We'll continue to monitor the area for gas readings to ensure the ongoing safety of all residents and businesses nearby, too.
Work will recommence on Friday 27 December. Our engineers will begin the final 80-metre section of work between the Tara Theatre and Wandle Pub.
We have now completed the installation of the new pipes in Penwith Road and we're working to reinstate the excavations we made to do this.
Over the course of the last eight weeks, we have decommissioned 820 metres of our old metal pipes and installed 606 metres of new plastic pipe. Under non-urgent circumstances, this would take an expected four to six months to complete.
We'd like to pass on our sincere thanks to the local community for your patience and understanding while we've been carrying out this essential work. We wish you a Merry Christmas.
The sections of gas main being replaced are old metal pipes that have had multiple repairs. Replacing them with new plastic pipes will provide a permanent solution to address ongoing disruption caused by leaks. These gas pipelines not only service properties in the immediate area but provide a critical supply of gas to a large area of Wandsworth.
There are many reasons why we are not able to work at night on infrastructure of this size.
- Safety is our priority – our engineers are working with live gas flowing at a significant pressure.
- Risk mitigation – other critical infrastructure is located underground, which presents an increased risk of loss of supplies when working in night-time conditions and with less visibility. During the day, response teams are on hand if needed.
- Service connections – to speed up progress, we’re carrying out service connections to properties as we install new sections. This requires access to homes, which wouldn’t be suitable at night.
There are many reasons why engineers may not be visible on site.
- Local pressure testing – during the installation process, we need to maintain local pressures in the gas network. This needs engineers to be off site at multiple governor locations to monitor/adjust local pressures within the network. This is essential to maintain local gas supplies.
- Resurfacing – we may also not be present when resurfacing is carried out and curing of road surfaces are required.
- Collection of materials – we may need to leave site to collect parts and materials for the following day, which cannot be stored on site.
- Completed work – when further engineering works are not possible until the following day, continuing to work would take our team over their permitted working hours. This would go against safety restrictions of night-time working and mandatory fatigue restrictions enforced by the government.
To maintain network supply, we are required to work in shorter sections and extra engineers will not speed up operations.
This is not possible due to us working on a live gas supply. We can only work on short sections at a time and are unable to isolate the gas main in multiple locations as this would result in a failure to the flow of gas through our network – these mains feed a critical supply of gas to a large area of your community.
