Road closure chaos
Monday December 7, 2009
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Shepherds Bush residents are worried that essential work by Thames Water could cause traffic chaos in the area.
The company begins replacing Victorian water pipes at the Sevens Stars corner on Goldhawk Road, Askew Road and Paddenswick Road on January 11. There are fears the works, which are expected to last for nine weeks, could bring traffic to a grinding halt.
Annabel Clarke of Cathnor Park Action Group lives in Greenside Road, which will be closed to traffic at the junction with Goldhawk Road. She said: “Our road is used as a cut-through so at least our street will be quieter, but it will be frustrating having to go all the way around to get in to the road.
“I know that the works have to be done, it’s just spectacularly bad timing to have Thames Water refurbishing the pipes at that part of Goldhawk Road. It is very unfortunate as this work coincides with the building of Hammersmith Academy. Construction traffic coming back and forth, especially if the trucks have to do a round trip to get there, could lead to traffic building up.
“There will be deliveries every 30 minutes and, with getting caught up in London traffic jams, this could lead to a backlog.”
Part of the westbound lane on Goldhawk Road, from Brading Terrace to Paddenswick Road, will be closed and a diversion will be put in place via Uxbridge Road and Askew Road.
Goldhawk Road will be open as usual for eastbound traffic, with only the junction with Greenside Road closed. All other side streets will be open to traffic. Temporary traffic lights at the roundabouts will keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible. Coningham Road will be open one-way northbound, and the 94 and 237 buses will use this route, so that services carry on running during the works.
Five old cast iron pipes at the roundabouts, which Thames Water says are at risk of bursting, will be replaced with three much larger plastic ones. Over half of the water mains in London are at least 100 years old, and a third have been in use for more than 150 years.
Neil Franks, project manager for Thames Water, said: “We are committed to reducing leakage and we can only achieve this by systematically replacing all of London’s leakiest, cast iron pipes that date back as far as the Victorian era. Due to the scale of this work, it won’t happen overnight, but the benefits of the project are already evident with leakage now at its lowest ever rate.
“We appreciate that work of this nature does bring inevitable disruption, but this huge investment will bring benefits to the area for years to come.”
Cabinet member and deputy leader, Councillor Nick Botterill, said: “We have no choice but to allow these essential works to take place but we will be keeping a close eye on the situation.
“These pipes are old and do burst, as we saw recently in Stamford Brook Road. The gallons of leaking water there caused serious damage and disruption for our residents, so we are eager for Thames Water to carry out this work. We have made it clear that it should be done as quickly and with as little disruption to residents as possible.”
Thames Water is holding a drop-in session for residents and businesses on Wednesday January 6, 10am-8pm, at Thames Water’s mobile information unit at Carpet Right on Goldhawk Road, W12 9PE.
For more information, contact Thames Water’s customer centre on 0845 6410011, quoting reference number TNU4, or visit www.thameswater.co.uk/newpipes (opens new window).
