Blue route is not an option say roads chiefs

Roads bosses have said there is no money and no will to build a road touted by many as the answer to north Fylde's congestion problems.
Congestion on the A585Congestion on the A585
Congestion on the A585

Highways England insists the Blue Route – a new direct link between Norcross and the M55, promoted by Lancashire County Council a decade ago – will never be built.

It is instead asking residents to throw their support behind a proposed £100m new dual carriageway designed to end the bottleneck at Little Singleton.

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In its report into a public consultation on the bypass, which would run from Windy Harbour to Skippool, the agency makes clear the Blue Route, supported by many local residents, is too costly and cannot be delivered.

The report says: “The cost of the blue route would be at least double the cost of the dual carriageway.

“Our remit for this scheme is to provide a deliverable solution to the day to day congestion problems suffered in the area, within the funding available in the Road Investment Strategy. It is important to note that the budget for the A585 Windy Harbour to Skippool improvement cannot be transferred to fund the blue route.

“Major improvements to the Strategic Road Network are funded through the Department for Transport’s Road Investment Strategy.

“Should this particular scheme not proceed, its budget would be returned to the fund and lost to Lancashire.”

The dual carriageway is the agency’s preferred option.