Engineers from Electricity North West have concluded the first stage of a £2.4m project in Newton le Willows.

The region’s power network operator started work back in September last year and has now successfully replaced 1.5km of underground cables along Borron Road, Urmston Avenue, Queens Drive, Billington Avenue, Ashton Road and the A49.

Bill Cross, Electricity North West’s project manager for the work in Newton le Willows, said: “We’re delighted to bring phase one of our work in Newton le Willows to a close.

“All cables are now energised and despite some testing weather conditions, particularly towards the end of the project, I’m really pleased we’ve been able to finish on time.”

Engineers are currently planning the routes for phase two which will see an additional 5km of underground electricity cables replaced.

“We’ve invested around £600k in the first phase,” added Cross.

“It’s important we continue to make proactive investments and I want to thank residents and businesses for their patience and understanding while we carried out this essential work to keep the area powered well into the future.”

Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport said: “I’m pleased that phase one of this scheme has been successfully completed on time, and I’d like to thank local residents and businesses for their cooperation throughout the duration of these important works.

“As a council we’re committed to ensuring infrastructure is fit for purpose, not just for today but for way into the future, and this project is a good example of the work that is being carried out in our borough to achieve this.”

For more information, please visit www.enwl.co.uk.