This is how many vehicles are using the new M55 link road a year after it opened

The Preston Western Distributor Road - now officially known as Edith Rigby Way - opened a year ago this month.

The two-and-a-half mile dual carriageway, which connects the A583 Blackpool Road and Riversway with a new junction 2 on the M55 at Higher Bartle, was the biggest of three new routes created as part of a £207m project.  

It was built to cut congestion on roads to the north of Preston, including the A6, as well as to facilitate the building of more than 5,500 homes in the North West of the city over the 20 years through to the mid-2030s.

The results of a recent traffic count - which were obtained by The Gazette - show that 17,000 vehicles use Edith Rigby Way each weekday. More than 100,000 vehicles are taking to the new road each week, including at weekends.

Work on the scheme - the budget for which more than doubled from £104m when it was first conceived - began in autumn 2019. 

The £434m Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal - a government-backed agreement to deliver 20,000 new jobs and over 17,000 new homes in the area - stumped up much of the Preston Western Distributor’s eventual cost via its Infrastructure Delivery Fund, with other elements coming from the government’s Growth Deal, National Highways and Homes England. 

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County Councillor Aidy Riggott, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for economic development and growth said of the usage figures:  "We're clear that the new road was built to improve journey times and reduce through-traffic on nearby local and residential roads, while also supporting current and future housing growth."

Independent studies suggested that there would be £60m of immediate benefits from the new infrastructure - which includes the adjoining William Young Way and Avice Pimblett Way - plus £22m of “gross value added” to the Lancashire economy every year for the next 60 years.