The £27M new M55 link road in Lancashire has finally opened, two months after it was initially expected to due to bad weather.
The new M55 to Heyhouses Link Road opens at midday today, Friday 28 June, completing the existing Lytham St Annes Way by linking the Whitehills Roundabout near the M55 at its northern point, to Heyhouses Lane near Cypress Point at its southern point.
It is a 2.5km single carriageway road between Lytham St Annes Way and North Houses Lane.
The road’s inclusion in the local network is due to improve access between St Annes, Ansdell, Fairhaven, Lytham and the M55, as well as relieving congestion on smaller roads.
In March, NCE reported the road’s opening had been delayed due to “wet weather”, according to Lancashire County Council.
Prolonged wet weather during 2023 affected several sections of the road corridor, causing delays to the first phase of the scheme to carry out earthworks and construct drainage, according to the council. This consequently had a knock-on impact on the rest of the project, with the site being handed over later than planned to Lancashire County Council’s highways team for construction of the upper layers of the road.
This phase of road construction being shifted into winter resulted in additional time being needed because activities such as laying asphalt couldn’t be carried out in poor weather conditions. It had been hoped that reasonable conditions over winter would allow for an accelerated construction schedule, and for the road to open in April.
Construction of the road began in June 2021 where the first phase was carried out by Duo Operations which involved earthworks and installation of drainage to prepare the ground for the road. The carriageway and bridleway has been constructed by Lancashire County Council’s in-house highways team.
The road replaces the former Wild Lane which has now been transformed into a bridleway running beside the road on the northern section. On the southern section there is a new shared path for cyclists and pedestrians.
It 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 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.
The road has been funded with contributions from the Department for Transport (DfT), National Highways, the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Lancashire County Council, Fylde Borough Council and also secured from development.
Its benefits are expected to be experienced immediately as thousands of people travel from across Lancashire and beyond to the annual Lytham Festival which begins on Wednesday 3 July.
The £27M road has further been built to support the commercial viability of local housing sites, existing employment areas and business development sites, with the improved link to the coast being vital to the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone and the Fylde coast’s leisure and tourism industry.
Lancashire County Council director of highways and transport Phil Durnell said: “We’re really looking forward to everyone being able to use the new link road from Friday.
“Reaching this point, where the road will soon be ready to open, is the culmination of many years of hard work by the county council and our partners to make the case for its benefits, bring together substantial funding from a number of sources, and engineer and construct the road to the necessary standard in what is a challenging location due to the naturally wet ground conditions.
“Following the initial phase of construction on groundworks, drainage and structures, our own highways team has built this road, and we're very pleased with the result. As well as the vehicle carriageway, there is a shared-use bridleway running alongside it, along with a number of controlled Pegasus crossings suitable for use by equestrians, cyclists and pedestrians.
“The road will immediately improve people's journeys between the Fylde coast and the M55, and bring significant future economic benefits by improving access to the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone, and the many popular tourist destinations which are vital to the local economy.
“I’d ask everyone to pay particular attention to safety when using the road, obey the speed limit, and be patient, as with all new road builds it will take some time for people to become familiar with its layout."
Fylde Council chief executive officer Allan Oldfield said: “Lytham St Annes Way will transform the lives of so many residents and visitors to the coast, the towns, and the countryside in Fylde.
“A major road link from the M55 to the heart of the coast will not just provide massive benefit to existing economic activity and events, it will open new opportunities for growth.
“A lot of people have been looking forward to the road opening, and the council is delighted it will be in use from Friday."
Watch a drone fly-through of the new road below:
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