Praise for Lancashire highways project as £150m bypass work enters next phase

Highways England is building a new dual carriageway bypass around Little Singleton and improving junctions at Windy Harbour and Skippool near Poulton-le-Fylde.

The road links Fleetwood with the M55 and the new bypass will remove a significant congestion bottleneck and support the delivery of new homes and jobs in the area.

With contractor Kier, Highways England has taken on four apprentices, created six graduate positions and worked with 15 local businesses.

MP for Fylde, Mark Menzies, visited the site on Monday and was given a tour by the project team who updated him on the scheme, which is due to open to traffic in 2023.

He heard how engineers are currently focusing on new road layouts at Skippool and Skippool Bridge junctions as well as a start on the ‘off-line’ work south of Little Singleton to construct the bypass, including a new bridge to carry Lodge Lane over the new road.

After his visit Mr Menzies said: “I was pleased to see the considerable progress being made following extensive archaeological works.

"I spoke with Keir and Highways England about some of the issues residents had raised with me and I was pleased to hear those parties are being engaged with.

“This road will help improve access to the M55, remove a major bottleneck and help create new jobs and housing.

"I was also pleased to hear about the works which will take place to detrunk the original road afterwards, making it a safer and slower road for residents.

“In 2023, we will see this scheme completed, the Preston West Distributor Road open to the east of the constituency, and the completion of the M55 link road between the M55 and St Annes.

"All of these projects will provide a huge economic boost to Fylde and I am glad to see them progressing so well.”

At Skippool Road, on the approach to the roundabout, United Utilities will be diverting a large water main which carries water for 36,000 properties in the Poulton-le-Fylde and Fleetwood areas.

This diversion will allow for construction of the realigned highway and extend the life of the critical water mains.

Two pipes will be installed across Skippool Road which will increase the resilience of the water supply network, and reduce the need for future emergency repairs on the road, creating more reliable journeys for drivers.

To carry out the work as safely and quickly as possible, the road will be closed for six weeks.

Highways England is working with the local authority to agree dates around early autumn and these will be confirmed nearer the time.

Highways England delivery director Stewart Jones said: “We’re making good progress with this scheme and are motivated by the end goal of better safety, reduced congestion and impact on traffic, and the removal of a major bottleneck on the main road to Fleetwood.

"Without these vital improvements it’s likely traffic and congestion would increase and accident numbers would rise.

“We appreciate the Skippool closure will cause disruption.

"We have consulted with the local authority and have worked hard to ensure it doesn’t last longer than six weeks. I’d like to thank people in advance for their patience.”

Jonathan Hornsby project manager at Kier Highways, said, “We were delighted to welcome Mark Menzies MP to the project.

"It validates how key this major project is to the regional and local economy.

"Work on site is going well, we’ve already hit several key milestones and the route of the bypass is taking shape.

"It can now be easily seen around Mains Lane as the heavy excavation works continue.

“Elsewhere we’ve got various initiatives on the go to help us integrate into the community.

"We want to donate time and construction resources to help local projects, charities, schools or vulnerable groups.

"And we’re making sure we minimise our environmental impact on wildlife and habitats.”

The project, which has its own dedicated webpage, is part of Highways England’s wider work across the north west that supports the government’s levelling up agenda and the country’s recovery from the pandemic.