MOTORISTS have been warned to brace themselves for severe disruption caused by £3.4million improvement works on the gas network in south Essex.

Cadent, which manages the gas network in Essex, is investing the cash into Benfleet and Canvey’s pipe network.

The move is designed to ensure the network is ready to carry low-carbon gas, like hydrogen, which is essential for the UK to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2050.

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The timetable for the next two-and-a-half years of works have been released, with a number of road closures and partial road closures coming into play. 

Rebecca Harris, Tory MP for Castle Point, said; “This upgrade is welcome and necessary, but there is no doubt it will cause some disruption on our roads while the work is being done. Cadent are phasing the work to keep traffic flowing around the borough as much as possible and that there will not be more than one main road subject to lane closures one time.

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“When this work is done, we should hopefully experience far fewer instances of emergency gas works on key roads in our borough for decades to come.”

  • In Benfleet, Thundersley Park Road, Mount Road, Mount Hill, and Underhill Road, will be subject to partial or full closures between February 20, 2023, until early June 2023.
  • Kents Hill Road, Melcombe Road, Cumberland Avenue, Oakfield Road, Kimberley Road, Clifton Avenue, Almere, and Bowers Road, will be impacted for 30 weeks between April 1, 2023, and late October 2023.
  • Vicarage Hill, Benfleet, as well as High Road, and Essex Way will be impacted from June 5, 2023, until early September 2023.
  • London Road in Benfleet will be impacted by works from June 10, 2023, and early October 2024. And Shipwrights Drive, Benfleet from July 29, 2024, until early September 2024.
  • On Canvey, Waarden Road, Thisselt Road, Valux Road, Linde Road, Surig Road, and Tilberg Road will be hit by partial closures for 146 weeks, from September 12, 2022, until August 2025.
  • Point Road, Canvey will also be impacted for two weeks between July 31, 2023, until August 11, 2023.

Glenn Holman, engineering manager, said: “We are very conscious of the impact this work could have on the local community and we are doing everything we can to reduce any disruption.  We ask residents and businesses to talk to us about their concerns through our customer team.”