OREANDA-NEWS. The southbound lane of A60 Mansfield Road in Arnold is set to reopen tonight after a National Grid project to replace gas mains in the area was completed a week early.

The A60 southbound lane, between Nottingham Road and Sir John Robinson Way, is expected to reopen at midnight, in time for rush hour tomorrow morning, following reinstatement of the road.

The A60 was closed for two weeks, starting on 29 July, while National Grid carried out an essential gas mains upgrade to keep gas flowing to local homes and businesses until the end of the century. The work was due to take three weeks but engineers completed it in a fortnight.

National Grid Authorising Engineer Paul Patrick said: "We would like to thank everyone for bearing with us while we carried out this essential work. Every effort has been made to complete this work as quickly as possible. The new pipes will ensure safe and reliable gas supplies for local people for decades to come.”

The existing iron gas mains, which had been in use for many years, were replaced with hardwearing modern plastic pipes that are designed to last for at least 80 years.

The gas main replacement project in Arnold is part of an £800 million investment National Grid is making to renew gas mains in the East of England running up until 2021.