Electricity North West, which operates the region’s power network, will start work on its £1m project replacing several underground cables in Lower Darwen later this week.
The project, starting in Albion Street before eventually reaching Bolton Road, will also see 14 wooden poles removed as the overhead lines will be replaced by underground cables.
Lisa Sumner, Electricity North West’s project manager for the work in Lower Darwen, which will benefit more than 8,000 customers, said: “We’re continuing to provide a critical service and it’s important we continue to upgrade the network despite the current situation with the pandemic.
“The use and need for electricity over the next few years is only going to increase and that’s why we are proactively replacing and installing new cables which thousands of customers will benefit from for many years to come.
“Throughout the project, we’ll look to keep disruption to a minimum, we’ve proactively contacted residents in advance of the work and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their patience and support.”
To ensure engineers can carry out work safely, a series of traffic management systems, agreed in advance with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, will be in place.
Residents in the areas of Albion Street, Livesey Branch Road, Heys Lane, Arkwright Fold, Parkes Way, Jack Walker Way and Blackburn Road, where work will be carried have been notified in advance.
Engineers are expected on site from Saturday, June 27th and work is expected to last for six months.
Electricity North West has confirmed that any work carried out will be in line with the latest Government guidelines in place, including social distancing.
For more information about the project please visit www.enwl.co.uk/lowerdarwen.
The project follows the ongoing work in Rawtenstall to upgrade its network too as Electricity North West continues to invest significant sums in the region.
The network operator is currently conducting customer research into its future service in the area. You can sign up and receive rewards for views at www.pluggingin.co.uk/join.
