Blackburn Bus Station open to passengers
The construction of a £4.5m bus station in Blackburn, which experienced delays after the main contractor was replaced, is complete and the facility open to the public.
The 11,800 sq ft station, designed by Capita, has been built on part of the old market site on Ainsworth Street.
The hub contains 14 bus stands and three layover facilities.
The structure is 10.5-metres wide, 90-metres long and enclosed in full-height, frameless glazing, supported by six sculptural loops, which Capita said were inspired by the cotton weaving looms of Lancashire’s industrial heritage.
In June 2015 Blackburn with Darwen Council terminated Thomas Barnes’ construction contract on the project, and replaced the firm with Eric Wright. Construction on the facility first began in May 2014.
Thomas Barnes went into administration later in 2015.
Funds for Blackburn bus station are from the £40m Pennine Reach programme, which is aimed at improving public transport between Blackburn and Accrington. The initiative is funded by the Department for Transport and is being jointly delivered by Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council, the highway authority for Hyndburn.
If this doesn’t put Blackburn on the map, nothing will!
By Whoopsie Daisy
Looks excellent, a great design, well done Blackburn. A similar bus station built at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester would go down a treat. What´s there now is pretty awful to use, and a nightmare experience in wet and windy weather for the thousands of people who us it regularly. I hope TfGM will now give it their urgent attention, after doing such a wonderful job revamping the City Zone tram stops. They do look smart and are a pleasure to use.
By Phil
It’s nice design, just in the wrong place IMHO. Should have been built on the old boulevard next to the train station to create a more integrated transport network.
By Petra