A MASSIVE pipeline was laid across a busy dual carriageway near Leigh - under the wheels of unsuspecting motorists and without a workman's cone in sight.

Temporary lights and contraflows were avoided by gas engineers laying a 61 metre-long pipe beneath the East Lancashire Road.

The work was carried out as part of a £50 million high-pressure gas pipeline in East Lancashire spanning 40 kilometres from Mawdesley to Warrington, crossing Leigh on the way.

It runs through Blackrod, Westhoughton, Atherton and Leigh, crossing two motorways, two rivers, two canals, five rail lines - including the Wigan to Bolton and Wigan to Manchester tracks - and 39 roads in the process.

Crossing the A580 was seen as a vital part of the project, taking eight days to install a 60-inch diameter concrete tunnel for a 42-inch diameter gas pipe five metres underneath the road surface.

The work was commissioned by Transco. Its project manager Peter Johnson said: "The process of laying the tunnel below the surface of the road started after many weeks of preparatory work.

"The expected challenges have been met and overcome with no disruption to drivers."

The Warrington to Mawdesley pipeline is one of 20 new high pressure pipelines being built across the UK by Transco at a cost of £350 million.