ScottishPower engineers have this month started a £3.6 million project to modernise the electricity network in Ayr. The work is designed to boost the reliability of power supplies and ensure that the local network will be in a good condition to facilitate future developments in the area.
As part of the work, a new substation will be constructed on land at Old Bridge Road.
New cables will also be required, and these will be laid underground in the James Brown Avenue and Heathfield Road area to the new substation.
The new substation and cables are vital in order to share the burden of supplying electricity to the area with the existing substation on Heathfield Road, which is currently running close to capacity.
Preliminary work has started with some excavation works taking place on James Brown Avenue, Low Road, and Old Bridge Road near to the location of the new substation. The work to excavate part of Heathfield Road has also been planned to take place at the same time as Scotland Gas Networks carry out work to minimise traffic disruption. Over the coming months as work increases, temporary traffic management procedures will be required. The company has been working closely with South Ayrshire Council in order to minimise any disruption this might cause.
Upcoming temporary traffic management includes:
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Resurfacing of Heathfield Road / Hunter Avenue Junction during a weekend in September – involving a temporary diversion for Hunter Avenue traffic and two way traffic lights on Heathfield Road
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Heathfield Road 20th August for 6 weeks, traffic maintained both directions on narrowed carriageway.
ScottishPower will endeavour to publicise any further road works via courtesy boards and press advertisements. The full project is expected to be complete this Autumn.
Tony Callan, Ayrshire Zone Manager at ScottishPower, said: “It is critical that this upgrade work is carried out so the electricity network can meet the needs of Ayr, both from recent developments and more importantly any future developments. We are investing significant funds to ensure that ScottishPower’s network is both modern and robust, which will improve the reliability of electricity supplies and reduce the inconvenience that can be caused by faults.”
“We will continue to work closely with South Ayrshire Council to minimise any disruption caused by the work.”
Notes to editors:
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ScottishPower Energy Networks own and operate the electricity transmission and distribution network in the south of Scotland and the distribution network in Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.
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As the network operator we maintain and repair the electrical equipment and network assets that transport electricity to around 3.5 million homes and business
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We manage more than 58,000 km of underground cables and over 90,000 substations across our network.
Media Information: Paul Ferguson, 0141 614 4535