PROJECT UPDATE: Penwortham Bypass taking shape

Just a month after bulldozers trundled in the long-awaited Penwortham Bypass is beginning to emerge

What is the project?

A 1.3km dual carriageway is being built to take traffic off the A59 and around the centre of Penwortham which has been suffering severe congestion for years. To make way, the sports fields of nearby All Hallows RC High School are being reconfigued.

Work starts on Â£17.5m Penwortham bypass

What is happening?

Only weeks after work began, the line of the new road is already evident, with the first phase of construction almost complete. In addition work is well advanced on the bypass’s link with the Broad Oak roundabout on the A582 Golden Way. Drainage work is expected to start soon for the sports pitches.

Why is it needed?

Experts expect up to 70 per cent of traffic - 22,000 vehicles - passing through Penwortham will transfer to the bypass, ending jams.

Official view?

John McKeever, principal engineer for LCC’s City Deal Delivery Team said: “Construction is going very well, helped by the recent good weather.” He added that the earthwork for the first construction phase of the bypass is almost complete. Work on the main drainage continues. Contractors will soon start to lay the drainage for the new playing fields. The bulk of civil engineering work on the Broad Oak roundabout will be complete later in the summer.