Uploaded April 2013 | Updated September 2026, 36 minutes ago
We had 9 days of disturbances. Originally they were only going to work Saturday Morning and then return on Monday, but after the original guys began digging they found 'VOIDS' so they stopped work. After about 3 hours a new crew from Riney began work and continued until 8pm. They then returned on Sunday and continued there investigations and repaired the road as far as the access to the gas main which was shored up with wood. That was finally covered over a week later after a specialist Camera crew from Yorkshire had sent a robot to check the pipe internally. Crossrail is tunnelling under this Gas Main. The Gas Main was rebuilt after the 2nd World War and uses a "Cut-and-Cover" method of pipe laying.
Several years ago there was a scare a little further up the road regarding a gas leak. A Iron working company had smelt gas in his arch for two weeks before he decided to inform the Gas Company. They came down and drilled the road to put cameras and sensors down. Eventually they dug the road up and made repairs.
One of the office guys I contacted regarding those earlier works told me all about the system. It seems the original contractor for Crossrail knew nothing of the engineering of this gas main. In conversations I had with Crossrail engineers regarding their works I discovered that they were not fully up to speed regarding what they where actually digging into. I was also told that if this pipeline should rupture and explode it could easily take out a quater square mile of London.
At one stage when the hole was almost fully excavated I was outside with a friend who was talking to the Foreman of the working crew there. Whilst he spoke to my friendthe foreman was smoking a cigarette. He finally took the fag out of his mouth and threw it to the ground by the excavation. He then proceeded to stomp on the butt with his boot and flick the remants into the trench.
We had 9 days of disturbances. Originally they were only going to work Saturday Morning and then return on Monday, but after the original guys began digging they found 'VOIDS' so they stopped work. After about 3 hours a new crew from Riney began work and continued until 8pm. They then returned on Sunday and continued there investigations and repaired the road as far as the access to the gas main which was shored up with wood. That was finally covered over a week later after a specialist Camera crew from Yorkshire had sent a robot to check the pipe internally. Crossrail is tunnelling under this Gas Main. The Gas Main was rebuilt after the 2nd World War and uses a "Cut-and-Cover" method of pipe laying.
Several years ago there was a scare a little further up the road regarding a gas leak. A Iron working company had smelt gas in his arch for two weeks before he decided to inform the Gas Company. They came down and drilled the road to put cameras and sensors down. Eventually they dug the road up and made repairs.
One of the office guys I contacted regarding those earlier works told me all about the system. It seems the original contractor for Crossrail knew nothing of the engineering of this gas main. In conversations I had with Crossrail engineers regarding their works I discovered that they were not fully up to speed regarding what they where actually digging into. I was also told that if this pipeline should rupture and explode it could easily take out a quater square mile of London.
At one stage when the hole was almost fully excavated I was outside with a friend who was talking to the Foreman of the working crew there. Whilst he spoke to my friendthe foreman was smoking a cigarette. He finally took the fag out of his mouth and threw it to the ground by the excavation. He then proceeded to stomp on the butt with his boot and flick the remants into the trench.
