M55 Link Road
The construction of the M55 to Lytham St Annes Link Road is intended to ease congestion and serve future development in the Blackpool area. Wardell Armstrong were appointed by Kensington Developments Limited, on behalf of a consortium including Lancashire County Council, Local Authorities and other stakeholders, to deliver the detailed design and contract documentation for the proposed link road.
The proposed 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 design to the satisfaction of the client, associated stakeholders and adopting Highway Authority. Key achievements include:
- Development of a deliverable and economical scheme given the imposed technical, environmental and ecological constraints.
- 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.
