Queens Drive: Gas leak road closure continues into next week

Cadent says the work is a very challenging piece of engineering

A major city centre route, which was closed on Tuesday, will not reopen until next week as gas engineers work round-the-clock on an urgent repair.

The leak of a gas pipe metres beneath Queens Drive near Townsend Avenue in Liverpool has caused major disruption.

Gas company Cadent said the 9m (30ft) by 3m (10ft) excavation left it with no option but to close Queens Drive southbound towards the M62.

The work will affect fans leaving Monday's Everton v Spurs match.

Checks continue to be made of nearby buildings and Cadent said it was satisfied everyone was safe but added the urgent work must happen now "to make sure it stays that way".

Dale Martin, Cadent's customer operations area manager for Liverpool, said: "This is very challenging engineering, and our absolute priority is keeping everyone safe, always.

"The size of this excavation is up there with the biggest I've been associated with in my 14 years working for the company. That brings additional challenges, to ensure the safety of everyone involved in working at the site."

He added: "We know it's not ideal, closing a busy road like this, but we trust and hope people understand we're doing all we can to get this sorted as quickly as we can."