One of Lancashire's busiest roads set for upgrade
Local Democracy Reporting ServiceMajor improvements to one of Lancashire's busiest roads are set to go ahead thanks to the approval of government funding.
Key junctions on the A582 in South Ribble will be redesigned as a way of boosting the flow of traffic on a route that is routinely at a crawl during peak times.
The Department for Transport has committed £57.9m towards the project, which is a scaled-down version of previous plans to turn the stretch between Lostock Hall and Penwortham into a dual carriageway.
That decade-old blueprint was effectively abandoned by Lancashire County Council last year following years of funding challenges and rising costs.
'Discourage rat-running'
Three roundabouts will be replaced with traffic light-controlled interchanges that will use the latest technology to help minimise congestion.
The twin roundabouts where the A582 meets Croston Road and Centurion Way will make way for the new junctions.
Meanwhile, the roundabout at the junction of Lostock Lane, Farington Road, Stanifield Lane and Watkin Lane – which is already controlled by traffic lights – will become a crossroads.
The plans also involve traffic-calming measures along Leyland Road and Watkin Lane designed to discourage rat-running and promote cycling and walking.
The roundabout at the northern end of Leyland Road will also be reconfigured.
The road improvements - some of which will require planning permission - are dependent on ministers approving a full business case which will now be submitted by the county council.
The estimated cost of the entire project stood at £70.7m at the time of last summer's public consultation into the plans.
Lancashire County Council had already earmarked £19m in "match funding" to add to the nearly £60m from Whitehall.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands a revised cost estimate is now being calculated, which could see the ultimate bill exceed £77m.
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