Balfour Beatty starts on £11m Birchwood Park road improvements

Work has started on an £11m package of roadworks designed to improve access to Birchwood Park in Warrington, due to complete in December 2019.

The second phase of the Warrington East road improvements package focusses on improving traffic flow in and out of the Birchwood Park Enterprise Zone, with major works planned around the Blackbrook Avenue roundabout; the College Place roundabout; and Oakwood Gate roundabout.

The business case put forward by Warrington Council, which is leading the project, claims that the improvements will support the development of 150 homes in east Warrington, and the creation of 1.700 jobs, with a benefit-to-cost ratio of £3.43 for every pound spent.

The provision of a bus-only linkage between Gig Lane and Woolston Grange employment area was previously removed from the proposals, along with the extension of the merge lane on Birchwood Way east of the Moss Gate junction, with the latter project being moved to phase three of the Warrington East plan.

The scheme is being funded by a combination of Local Growth Fund money, which has contributed £6.9m, and £2m from Enterprise Zone funding, along with funding from Warrington Council.

Balfour Beatty was procured as main contractor through Scape’s national civil engineering framework, having recently completed an £11.7m scheme around Junction 8 of the M62.

Pete Waterman, chair of the Cheshire and Warrington LEP’s transport body, said: “These highway improvements are very important to the economic development of the region enabling businesses to reach markets and access skills and talent, while allowing our residents to reach jobs, education, shops and services.

“These schemes will help support development, most notably at Omega which has created more than 5000 jobs and brought more than £155m of private sector investment to date, crucial if we are to stimulate faster economic growth and succeed in realising our ambition to make Cheshire and Warrington the most attractive place to work, invest and live.”

Your Comments

Read our comments policy

Related Articles

Sign up to receive the Place Daily Briefing

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and sign up to receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

"*" indicates required fields

Your Job Field*
Other regional Publications - select below