Funding plan for key motorway link

Highways chiefs are considering a £1.7m contribution to a new road which would ease traffic congestion between Blackpool and St Annes.
Traffic on North Houses Lane, where Lancashire County Council want to build the M55 link road.Traffic on North Houses Lane, where Lancashire County Council want to build the M55 link road.
Traffic on North Houses Lane, where Lancashire County Council want to build the M55 link road.

Lancashire County Council’s cabinet is being asked to put the money towards construction of the M55 Heyhouses link road which would take pressure off Queensway.

The proposed road would connect the existing roundabout at Whitehills Road to the north with Heyhouses Lane near the Cyprus Point development site to the south.

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It would improve access between Lytham, St Annes and the M55, as well as supporting other developments include plans by Kensington Developments for 1,150 new homes.

County Coun Keith Iddon, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Access from Lytham and St Annes to the M55 is presently via a circuitous and busy route leading to unreliable journey times.

“The situation has worsened since the most direct route on Wild Lane was closed in 2013 but there is also a need to satisfy expected increased traffic demands.

“There are still a number of hurdles to overcome and we are working closely with partners to clear them, but securing the funding contributions we need is critical to taking the scheme forward to completion.”

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The scheme is currently estimated to cost £21.7m, with contributions also planned from Fylde Council, the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, Highways England, the Department for Transport and Kensington Developments.

If project milestones are met, and funding is in place, a contract for the road’s construction could be awarded next April, with the road potentially completed in Spring 2021.