£8.2m highway improvement plans move forward

A MAJOR £8.2m highways improvement scheme, which will bring huge benefits to residents, motorists and businesses in west Warrington, is moving ahead.
The borough council’s executive board has approved plans for the Omega Local Highways – Phase 3 project.
The project will provide additional highway capacity, enhanced network resilience and improved pedestrian facilities for the wider West Warrington highway network, complementing other priority transport schemes the council is bringing forward over the next three years.
It will support the delivery of around 1,100 homes within Omega in a location already identified as one of the key housing sites for the
borough. It will also support more than 12,000 new jobs at Omega as well as 7,000 existing jobs on Omega and Lingley Mere employment sites.
Executive board approval paves the way for the start of the initial stage of the scheme, an investment of almost £2m in the widening of the southbound highway, from Kingswood Road to the Westbrook Way roundabout.
Funding for the works comes from Omega Warrington Ltd as part of their planning consent for the residential areas of the Omega site.
The council’s lead member for highways, transportation and public
realm, Cllr Hans Mundry, said: “These important works form part of our commitment to improve the highways network in west Warrington, identifying our most severe pinch points, reducing congestion, improving journey times and supporting businesses.
“The improvements will also provide the transport infrastructure needed for the delivery of more than 1,000 much-needed new homes, and help stimulate on-going development and investment in the area.
“We continually review our network to understand which elements require improvement to accommodate current and future needs. We understand that major works such as these can cause short-term disruption to local residents, businesses and commuters. However, the project will be carefully phased, to minimise disruption as much as possible, and to reduce the overall duration of the works.”