M55 to Heyhouses Link Road Now Open
The M55 to Heyhouses Link Road, which opened this summer, has created a better connection between Lytham St Annes and the M55 motorway by relieving congestion on smaller local roads and supporting the commercial viability of local housing and business development sites. The road has also improved the connection to the coast, supporting the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone and the area’s vital leisure and tourism industry.
The link road received planning permission in 2012 following a public inquiry, with initial enabling works to prepare for the construction of the road carried out in 2017. Further preparation work began in January 2019 to relocate communications cabling which crossed the line of the new road. Work also took place in early 2021 to construct a concrete slab to protect a high-pressure water main and relocate electricity network infrastructure. Work on the road itself began in June 2021. The first phase involved around 18-months of earthworks to prepare the ground for the new road. The M55 to Heyhouses link road was then constructed by the Lancashire County Council’s in-house team and completed in June 2024.
The design and construction of the link road route presented several technical challenges including poor ground conditions, numerous environmental and ecological constraints, an extensive flood plain, two main river crossings, the presence of existing strategic utilities and constrained land availability. Through effective inter-disciplinary working between our Civil, Geotechnical and Structural Engineers, together with close liaison with external environmental consultants, we were able to deliver an economical road corridor design to the satisfaction of the client, associated stakeholders and adopting Highway Authority. Key achievements include:
- The development of an efficient and cost effective vertical and horizontal road alignment design including detailed geotechnical remediation along the road corridor.
- Value-engineered scheme for river crossings and the provision of flood compensation storage providing more cost-effective and buildable solution. Estimated cost saving £4.4m.
- Development of significantly less onerous temporary works proposals for noise attenuation during construction, required to protect adjacent Farmland Conservation Area.
The existing lane which runs beside the northern section of the new road was already closed to traffic, has now become a shared route for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, with connections into existing public rights of way. On the southern section, a new single carriageway was created for cyclists and pedestrians, providing a continuous sustainable transport corridor along the whole length of the new road.
