A59 works: Everything we know about the A59 closure plans at Brockholes Brow in Preston

The A59 at Brockholes Brow – which links Preston city centre to the M6 – will be shut in both directions from Monday (July 25).

Vital work is needed to stabilise the embankment, which is at risk of collapsing into the road. The closure will apply to both vehicles and pedestrians for the duration of the works.

Why is it being closed?

One lane has already been closed on the A59 at Brockholes Brow since March 2021 when a small landslip occurred on a steep wooded embankment next to the road, resulting in part of the slope encroaching onto the carriageway.

Monitoring over the past six months has found that the embankment is still moving towards the road at a rate of around 10cm a month, with intervention urgently needed to stabilise it and restore the full width of the road and pavement.

This will also reduce the risk of a bigger landslip happening if the embankment was left in its current state. Without this scheme to stabilise it and retain the banking, the situation would keep getting worse until there would be no option but to close the road for safety anyway.

When will it take place?

Work is due to begin on Monday July 25 and is expected to take up to seven weeks, with work taking place 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The scheme has been scheduled during the school holidays when traffic levels are lower to minimise disruption as much as possible.

How will it affect my journey?

The closure of the A59 at Brockholes Brow will have a major impact on access to and from the east of Preston with this route being a key link to East Lancashire and beyond, as well as travel north or south via the M6 motorway.

"This will clearly be very disruptive, particularly for people who use this route regularly, local businesses, and those who live nearby," said Adrian Phillips, chief executive at Preston City Council.

He added: “We're very sorry for the impact this will have, however we’ll be making all efforts to minimise this by working around the clock to get the road reopened as soon as we can.”

What work is taking place?

- Installing large sheet metal piles as a retaining structure along a 40-metre length of the embankment

- Building a 1.2m high retaining wall along the same length

- Installing drainage to help protect the embankment from wet weather in the future

- Removing excess material from the bottom of the slope to restore the full width of the road and pavemen

- Landscaping work and planting species native to the existing woodland

- Removing the current lane closure and restoring the 40mph speed limit

Whilst the road is closed the County Council is also planning a range of other routine highway maintenance in the area to avoid the need for further lane closures in future and minimise the overall level of disruption.

Diversions

Signed diversions suitable for all vehicles will be put in place when the work starts on Monday (July 25).

- For M6 Eastbound traffic – via Blackpool Road and Garstang Road

- For Blackburn Eastbound traffic – via New Hall Lane, London Road, Victoria Road, Church Brow and Cuerdale Lane

- For Preston Westbound traffic – via Cuerdale Lane, Church Brow, Victoria Road, London Road and New Hall Lane