Member Article

Over £5m allocated to tackle congestion in Warrington East

A new scheme to reduce congestion and improve local economic growth by attracting investment, is set to commence in the Warrington East area.

The scheme has been allocated over £5m and it is hoped that it will both protect and create jobs.

The project has been made possible thanks to funding secured by the Warrington Borough Council as part of the Growth Deal for Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), together with a contribution from Birchwood Park.

The council will be contributing around £2m towards the total cost from the council’s capital programme, with the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership matching with the same level of funding.

The funding will improve three of the junctions along Birchwood Way (A574).

The scheme will reduce journey times for travellers, along with improving accessibility and safety for pedestrians, and cyclists.

The congestion alleviation proposals include improvements to the Oakwood Gate ‘Dog bone’, converting the Moss Gate roundabout to signals, as well as the introduction of a bus link at Faraday Street roundabout which will provide a bus only link to Ordnance Avenue andl reduce journey times for passengers.

Executive member for Highways, Transportation and Public Realm, Councillor Hans Hundry, said: “This is a very important and high profile transport project which we are really pleased to be able to deliver for the people of Warrington.

“It will help to protect and create jobs, and make travelling so much more pleasant.

“The Growth Deal funding shows the value of working with the Local Enterprise Partnership and bodes well for future bids for other transport schemes.”

The main contract is expected to start this July and finish in February 2016.

Balfour Beatty have been appointed as the contractor for the project.

They will be managed by a project team consisting of council officers from the Transport for Warrington service and design consultants Mott MacDonald.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .