BARRHEAD is to face five months of road disruption following an upgrade to the towns gas network.

Gas network company, SGN, started their works on Monday, January 21, which is expected to last 20 weeks in the Victoria Road area.

It will involve ‘essential’ work to replace the old, metal gas mains with new plastic pipes to ensure a ‘continued safe and reliable’ gas supply.

Dan Brown,  a spokesman for gas network company SGN, said: We’ll be carrying out the work over four phases to help minimise disruption.

Phase one will be for approximately three weeks. From Monday, January 21, we’ll be working in Victoria Road between its junctions with Paisley Road and Victoria Gardens. To ensure everyone’s safety, we will close the footpath on one side of the road. We may also need to install temporary three-way traffic lights at the junction of Victoria Road and Paisley Road.

“Phase two for approximately eight weeks will be from Monday, February 11 and we’ll be working in Paisley Road between Victoria Road and Fereneze Grove. During this phase, to ensure everyone’s safety and minimise disruption, we may have to install temporary two-way traffic lights around our work area.

"For around six weeks from Monday, April 1, phase three will be working in Paisley Road from its junction with Fereneze Grove and the railway bridge. During this phase, we’ll also be working in Carlibar Road from the train station to number 34 Carlibar Road.

“To ensure everyone’s safety and to minimise disruption to traffic flow, temporary four-way traffic lights will be installed in place of the permanent four-way lights at the junction of Paisley Road and Graham Street and at the junction of Cross Arthurlie Street and Carlibar Road.

“We hope to complete this phase without any additional traffic management.

“For the final phase, for approximately three weeks from Monday, May 20, we’ll be working in Carlibar Road from outside number 34 to the Arthurlie Football Club entrance. For everyone’s safety, temporary two-way traffic lights will be in place around our work area.

“We understand that people can get frustrated by roadworks. However, the new plastic pipe has a minimum lifespan of 80 years. This means that when the work is complete, Barrhead residents and businesses will continue to enjoy the benefits of a safe and reliable gas supply for years to come.”