Redesigned Wigan link road gets £9m funding boost
Work on a new £20m link road between the A49 and Westwood Park looks set to begin, two-and-a-half years after a contract for the project was first awarded, with a funding package of £9m due to be signed off this week.
The A49 link road will tie in to an existing roundabout at the Warring Road and Little Lane junction, continuing through to Westwood Park at the Chapel Lane and Poolstock Lane junction. In total it will include around 2.3km of new dual carriageway.
Internal access roads at Westwood Park will also be dualled, while bridges will be widened and new retaining structures will be built as part of the work.
A contract for the project was first awarded to Galliford Try in June 2015, but the contract was terminated last year “by mutual consent”.
The project’s design and construction has now been re-tendered, and a contractor is expected to be in place by March this year.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is due to sign off the final £9m funding package for the road, drawn down from Local Growth Deal budgets, when it meets this Friday. The GMCA has already backed the project with £1m of funding, with the remaining £10m provided by Wigan Council.
The GMCA said the link road would “enhance connectivity, reduce congestion, and support economic growth”.
