MOTORISTS are set to be hit with a ‘high level’ of disruption over the next month as three projects cause delays on key routes into the town centre.

It comes as Cadent, which manages the North West gas network, begins a major scheme to replace a 100-year-old pipe on Blackburn Road in a project set to last from Monday, April 15, until October.

This follows the start of work by Bolton Council’s Highways Department to resurface Tonge Moor Road, which will see temporary traffic lights in place between 9am-3.30pm for at least four weeks, until around Friday, May 3.

The two schemes come in the wake of another project involving a similar century-old gas main on Halliwell Road, which began in January and is expected to end on Thursday, April 25.

Cadent’s new multi-million pound work on Blackburn Road will mean temporary traffic lights in place.

This is expected to cause delays especially during peak times but the work has been split into five phases in an effort to limit disruption to drivers.

There will also be some road closures on other streets where they have junctions with Blackburn Road and diversions will be signposted. In some cases, gas to individual homes may have to be switched off temporarily.

Craig Horrocks, who heads up Cadent’s gas mains replacement in the region said disruption from the work was “unavoidable” because of the location of the pipe under the road.

“This is one of many schemes across the North West – replacing the current, often very old, metallic gas mains with tough, durable plastic pipes that will safely distribute gas into the next century," he added.

“We’ve worked with the local authority, Bolton Council, to plan this work in phases, making sure we keep one lane of Blackburn Road open always.

“We appreciate this not ideal, but hope people understand this is vital work to ensure a continued safe and reliable supply of gas – and our priority is to get the work done safely.”

The phases of Cadent's Blackburn Road project are:

n Canning Street to Astley Street. Starts April 15, for three weeks.

n Astley Street to the bridge over Astley Brook. Starts May 6 for seven weeks.

n Work around the bridge area. Starts June 24, for four weeks.

n From the bridge to Newham Street. Starts July 24, for four weeks.

n Halliwell Road to the junction with Canning Street. Starts September 2, for seven weeks.

This project will begin with a week left on a very similar scheme that has seen sections of Halliwell Road closed intermittently for around four months.

The two sets of work are part of a £77m programme this year which will see Cadent "future-proof" the region's gas network.

There is also a third gas main project which has seen one lane closed on Crompton Way - between Seymour Road and Almond Street. This is set to end on Sunday, April 14.

All of these schemes overlap with work on Tonge Moor Road where engineers are resurfacing the street. This has been scheduled to take place during school holidays in an effort to reduce disruption.