CLAIMS that a major roadworks scheme digging its way through the middle of Brentwood could have been avoided have been dismissed by the company behind it.
The vast three-month project by UK Power Networks to lay a 33,000 kilovolt cable across the borough has been questioned by some councillors, who believe it could have been easily laid by the side of railway tracks between Brentwood station and Wash Road, in Hutton.
Among them is Liberal Democrat council opposition group leader Barry Aspinell, who has poured scorn on the plans and the prospect of weeks of disruption facing motorists, which he says could easily have been avoided.
UK Power Networks have also denied that the works are because of the imminent Crossrail works that will eventually lead to extra tracks being laid at Shenfield.
Councillor Aspinell, who represents Pilgrims Hatch, said: "This could have been avoided if they had just put the line down by the side of the track. It would have avoided weeks of chaos and huge cost. It seems to me that this had to be done because the Crossrail project was going to mean the extra line was going where the cable is."
A UK Power Networks spokesman said: "The cables running alongside the rail track were installed in the late 1950s as a joint network between British Rail and Eastern Electricity (now UK Power Networks) to power both the railway and local consumers.
"There are many operational reasons why the cables cannot continue to remain alongside the track, the primary reason being that UK Power Networks wants to maintain the reliability of power supplies to 130,000 customers in the area.
"If cables are left alongside the tracks it leaves them exposed to attempted theft, as well as potential damage due to increased trackside rail improvements. If our cables are placed underground there is less likelihood of any damage through external factors.
"We have limited access to sites by railway lines when we need to carry out fault repairs and maintenance. The cables at this site are also beginning to deteriorate, and any damage or weakness could result in power cuts to thousands of customers.
"We always consider all options, including a new overhead power line, but it was not considered viable in this case. Overhead lines are a key part of our network but are mainly used in open spaces, and a number of large pylons would be needed across the area to support cables of this size.
"Both trackside lines and overhead lines would be a cheaper option in this particular case, but our priority is reliability of supplies to our customers.
"We appreciate that the motorists and residents will be inconvenienced by this vital project, so we have kept the local authorities informed of our work from the very beginning and are doing our utmost to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
"We are carrying out the work near schools during school holidays and, where possible ,we are not laying cables in the main arterial roads, but in residential streets where we are keeping residents fully informed of our plans.
"It would not be appropriate for us to comment about Crossrail's route plans. When the original plans for the UK Power Networks project were drawn up several years ago, it was merely considered a benefit to remove our cables to avoid any possible future diversions for the Crossrail project, but it has never been the primary reason for us carrying out this work, and therefore discussions have never taken place with Network Rail or Crossrail with regard to this."