MOTORISTS and businesses face another four weeks of disruption in Hailsham as Ersham Road closes for the next phase of SGN’s major gas main replacement programme.
The B2104 Ersham Road is due to close from Monday, October 5, until Saturday, October 31, as work continues to replace the ageing gas network around South Road.
The latest information published on the East Sussex roadworks map shows a 243-metre section of Ersham Road affected by the closure, with emergency access maintained at all times.
The work involves replacing 263 metres of eight-inch cast-iron low-pressure gas main with new 180mm polyethylene pipe, together with associated connections and services.
The closure marks the latest stage of a major programme which began in July and has already caused significant disruption around South Road and Diplocks Way.
It also represents a change to the timetable originally announced by SGN.
When details of the project were first released, SGN said work on Ersham Road was expected to begin on October 12 and last approximately three weeks, with the road closed between its junction with South Road and Windsor Close.
The latest roadworks information instead shows the closure beginning a week earlier, on October 5, and remaining in place until October 31.
The wider project was launched to replace a gas main in the South Road area which SGN said was nearly 100 years old and could no longer be subject to long-term repairs.
Work has been carried out in phases, including lengthy restrictions on South Road and the closure of its junction with Diplocks Way, which resulted in congestion and disruption to bus services during the summer.
SGN previously said replacing the old metal mains with plastic pipes would provide a safer and more resilient gas network, with the new pipes expected to have a lifespan of more than 80 years.
