Engineers make world's largest gate valve weighing the same as ten London buses

Blackhall Engineering, based in Brighouse, designed and manufactured the first of six 40 ft valves, which weigh 100 tonnes, the same as ten London buses, for the project.

The first £1m valve, which has a 100-year lifespan, is now installed and the second one is in the casting process.

The company said: “When the world’s most impressive pipeline scheme asks for 100-year asset life valves, you listen.”

Dallas’s rapidly growing population means that more than 13m residents are expected to need water by 2060 – more than double the population served by the authorities today.

The 2bn dollar Integrated Pipeline Project (IPL) will enable water companies to increase the water supply by 350m gallons per day (1.59bn litres per day) meeting the ever increasing demand in the long term.

The project involves the construction of 150 miles of pipeline from multiple lakes plus three lake pump stations and three booster pump stations.

Blackhall Valves are playing an essential role on the project by regulating the water in the largest and longest segments of the pipeline. Five further valves are currently in production, designed in the UK and manufactured in the US.

James Blackhall, the managing director of Blackhall Engineering, which employs 60 people, said: “It has been a joy working with Tarrant Regional Water District, both engineering teams worked exceptionally closely with a true sense of purpose to deliver this legacy project”.