Highways bosses are poised to spend up to £6m on plans for a radical revamp of one of the most congested roads in Central Lancashire – in spite of there being no guarantee of the government funding also needed to make them a reality. Lancashire County Council’s cabinet will next week be asked to commit the cash to the next stage of a long-awaited upgrade of the A582 between South Ribble and Preston.
The authority last year effectively abandoned a decade-old vision to turn the route into a dual carriageway from Lostock Hall to Penwortham. Citing changes to travel patterns since that blueprint was first developed, County Hall instead set out a new scheme designed to reduce delays on the 3.2-mile stretch of road by redesigning some of its key junctions.
The proposed changes include the removal of the twin roundabouts at Flensburg Way/Farington Road/Croston Road/Centurion Way, with three traffic light-controlled junctions being put in their place. The roundabout at Stanifield Lane/Lostock Lane/Farington Road – where lights are already in use – would also be ripped up and converted into a signal-operated crossroads.
A report to be presented to cabinet members next Thursday (January 16) reveals that an outline business case submitted to the Department for Transport last summer generated “positive indications from officials” regarding its “acceptability in principle”. However, a decision on whether ministers will be prepared to foot the lion’s share of the total bill for the project – now estimated to be £68.1m – is not expected until the government completes its departmental spending review in the spring.
Nevertheless, county council highway officers are recommending that the authority ploughs on with the development of a full business case and the preparation of any compulsory purchase orders that might be needed to acquire the necessary land along the route in order to complete the scheme. That work will require the use of up to £6m from a £19m pot the authority has previously earmarked for local “match funding” that will be demanded by the government towards the project’s overall cost.
Cgi Of The Croston Road/A582 junction proposals
(Image: Copyright Unknown)
The cabinet report says the decision is vital in order to “achieve key milestones” and reduce the chance of inflation pushing up the price. It will also ensure the scheme aligns with related work in the vicinity connected to the Lancashire Central logistics, leisure and retail development which is set to be built on land at the end of the M65 at Cuerden.
However, the document acknowledges that spending the money at this stage carries the risk of there “potentially being no funded scheme to progress to delivery” – in other words no project to implement if the government cash is not ultimately forthcoming and so nothing to show for the £6m County Hall could already have spent on it.
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