'This is what we need to relieve M6 gridlock' - Lancashire MP renews call over motorway chaos

The motorway was closed for much of Monday between junction 33 (Lancaster) and Forton Services after a "multi-vehicle collision” at around 10.30am. Eight people, including two young children, were taken to hospital after a pile-up involving six vehicles. Five people suffered serious injuries, including one of the children, who was taken to Manchester Children's Hospital.

In May, Ms Ellis called for urgent action to address mounting traffic chaos caused by recurring incidents on the M6 motorway - and announced she had secured a commitment from the Roads Minister to meet and discuss long-term solutions.

She said: “When the M6 goes down, everything grinds to a halt. Traffic spills onto small country roads not designed for such volumes, bringing chaos to places like Longridge and Grimsargh.”

Now, she’s welcomed the Government’s confirmation of funding for long-overdue improvements to the A582, as part of a national £92 billion investment in roads and rail - but says more investment in the local network is needed. She’s backing a proposed new River Ribble crossing to link Penwortham and Lea – which would connect the A582 to the Preston Western Distributor and provide an essential alternative route when the M6 is gridlocked.

She said: “I’m grateful to the officials and ministers who’ve backed this...but that’s only part of the job done. We need strategic improvements that futureproof our region’s infrastructure, and that means a nice new bridge to finish the job.”

The bridge idea

A third bridge over the Ribble has long been talked about. In 2023, Lancashire highways bosses said it could still be built - but only if the government stumps up most of the cash. The bridge has long been floated as a possibility as part of a vision to create an uninterrupted dual carriageway between the A582 at Cuerden and the M55 at Bartle, via the Penwortham bypass – which would funnel traffic making that journey away from Preston city centre and the surrounding area and so reducing congestion.

Back in 2019, an independent study put a new cross-river connection at the heart of its recommendations for how to improve travel in and around Preston.

The Preston City Transport Plan cautioned against dismissing the idea as too ambitious, suggesting that the bridge would be the final piece in the puzzle to create a coherent ring road around the city – enabling new and widened routes either side of the river to join up with the M55 to the north and the M6 to the east.

The completion of the Preston Western Distributor – now officially known as Edith Rigby Way – was seen as a key part of making a new crossing worthwhile.