New £153M Wigan link road to Bolton announced which will aim to ‘ease congestion and unlock new jobs’
The route will connect the A49 in Wigan to the A58 in Hindley is due to start by March 2029 at the latest.
The government has committed £153m to build part of a link road between Wigan and Bolton which was first called for shortly after the Second World War.
The route will connect the A49 in Wigan to the A58 in Hindley is due to start by March 2029 at the latest.
The new route will also connect into other additional road schemes funded by developers, creating a joined-up east-west link road which aims to alleviate congestion and support approximately 1,000 jobs across the area.
Proposals for a new road between the towns date back almost 80 years, pre-dating the building of the M6, M61 and M58, motorways which would be linked by the route.
Last year, Wigan council published a strategy for ‘east-west road links which they claim would be ‘transformational for the communities impacted’.
A formal route for the road was identified decades ago and the A5225 approved in the early 1990s.
Despite repeated promises, the scheme was never delivered.
The Wigan-Hindley Link Road would be four kilometres in length, including the related upgrade of Seaman Way to the A577 Manchester Road between Ince-in-Makerfield and Hindley.
It would provide a new access over the west coast main line railway as an extension of the A49 Link Road, which would remove through traffic from Wigan town centre and the A577 between Wigan and Hindley.
Makerfield MP Josh Simons has led community campaign to get the Government to fund the road.
He said: “For over 70 years, this link road was talked about, promised, then quietly dropped time and time again. “Nothing changed. I was having none of that.
“This didn’t happen by chance. It happened because people refused to put up with it any longer, and because we kept pushing. This is what happens when you don’t back down. Long-standing issues can be solved.
Things that were written off can still be won. “In the months and years ahead, I will be working with neighbouring MPs Jo Platt and Phil Brickell to ensure the full Wigan to Bolton link is delivered in full.”
Secretary of state for transport, Heidi Alexander MP said: “This is a transformational moment for people in the area – a project talked about for over 70 years is finally being delivered.
“It will ease congestion, unlock new jobs, and make a real difference to everyday life.”
Other sections of the extended link road towards the eastern section of the area are dependent on major housing development schemes being progressed.
They include the North Leigh Park link road for the remaining land at North Leigh Park.
That has outline planning permission for residential development with remaining capacity for around 1,500 homes.
The Gibfield Park Way extension is part of a proposed mixed-use development comprising around 500 new homes and around 45,500 sqm of employment floorspace.
The Lee Hall and Hulton Park proposed developments would create Park Avenue near Westhoughton.
Peel Land hope to secure permission for new homes and a link road at Hulton Park including Lee Hall and Park Avenue, east of Westhoughton, through to the A6 and M61 Junction 5.
Park Avenue has hybrid planning consent with detailed permission for Park Avenue North and Central, and outline for Park Avenue South.
It is anticipated that this section of the route would be funded through a combination of developer funding from the Lee Hall and Hulton
Park sites and external funding to be accessed by Bolton Council.