Heysham - M6 Link Road

The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.

There is a separate forum for Street Furniture (traffic lights, street lights, road signs etc).

Registered users get access to other forums including discussions about other forms of transport, driving, fantasy roads and wishlists, and roads quizzes.

Moderator: Site Management Team

Post Reply
Richard (Barrow)
Member
Posts: 383
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 15:09
Location: Buckshaw Village

Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Richard (Barrow) »

The notice went out today for the Heysham - M6 Link Road.

Looks like it might finally be happening......(not holding my breath though)

Lancashire County Council is seeking to establish a select list of contractors
to tender for the construction of Heysham to M6 Link Road including associated
highway and bridge/structural works.

The works consist of the construction of a link road between the
already built length of A683 Heysham to M6 Link, at its junction with the
A589 Morecambe Road near Torrisholme and a fully remodelled junction 34 on
the M6 motorway near Halton. The route is a 4.8 km long two-lane dual
carriageway all-purpose road with intermediate junctions and a combined
footway/cycleway along its full length.

The scheme includes alterations to the local road network including existing junctions.
There will be a requirement to construct 23 major structures including bridges over the
West Coast Mainline railway, Lancaster Canal and the River Lune.

A park and ride site is included at the M6 Junction 34 and there will be a
dedicated bus lane along Caton Road into the city centre.

The estimated cost of the works is in the order of 100 000 000 GBP at current prices.


II.3) DURATION OF THE CONTRACT OR TIME-LIMIT FOR COMPLETION: Starting:
15.6.2009. Completion: 15.12.2012
cb a1
Member
Posts: 5361
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2004 07:30

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by cb a1 »

Richard (Barrow) wrote:The notice went out today for the Heysham - M6 Link Road.

II.3) DURATION OF THE CONTRACT OR TIME-LIMIT FOR COMPLETION: Starting:
15.6.2009. Completion: 15.12.2012
Blimey. That's less than 5 months to get the tenders written, submitted, assessed and awarded. I read that OJEU are permitting reduced timescales in the tendering process as part of the desire to kick-start the flow of cash from government but I'd have thought the tender queries stage would have been quite long on something of this size (noting the 23 major structures in 4.8km). Still if there's lots of construction companies with staff sitting around doing nothing ... I just hope LCC have the requisite number of staff to deal with it.
Richard (Barrow)
Member
Posts: 383
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 15:09
Location: Buckshaw Village

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Richard (Barrow) »

Given that this project has been hanging around for a few years is it not likely that interested firms would have done at least some preparation for tendering?
User avatar
RichardA35
Committee Member
Posts: 5705
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 18:58
Location: Dorset

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by RichardA35 »

cb_a1 wrote:Blimey. That's less than 5 months to get the tenders written, submitted, assessed and awarded.
Looks to me only the start of the process with this invitation to prequalify. It looks about right for the shortlist to decided in June then for the tender process to follow to allow major construction 2010-2012.
B4133
Banned
Posts: 2009
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2004 19:07

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by B4133 »

I wonder what's its number going to be other than M6 Link, why not call it the M63! That way you'll end up with a seperatly number spur in effect.

I know that the junction 34 is getting remodeled, i feel that it would end up with a dumbell interchange unless a new 34a is resurected to a trumpet.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Bryn666 »

The link road has, and always will be, the A683. There are plans available online showing the route.

Junction 34 will become a larger parclo, with an extra bridge across the Lune to allow access to the new road, then a roundabout with access to the A6 (which is on a flyover, so one of those daft half-GSJ things), and then a cutting before meeting Phase 1 of the route which opened in 1994 at a set of signals to replace the existing roundabout on Morecambe Road.

It's much needed, despite what Geraldine Smith MP and the Greens say. You can have a see why if you drive around the (shameless plug) Lancaster City Centre One Way System.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
A8000Bob
Member
Posts: 3156
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2005 20:02
Location: Kirkcaldy, Fife

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by A8000Bob »

So is Junction 34 getting sorted out?
Richard (Barrow)
Member
Posts: 383
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 15:09
Location: Buckshaw Village

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Richard (Barrow) »

Yes.
User avatar
Nicholas
Member
Posts: 4695
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 18:37
Location: Bournemouth
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Nicholas »

Voie Rapide / Mótarbhealaí
Updated 1 November 2019!
User avatar
Haydn1971
Member
Posts: 12426
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 14:16
Location: Sheffield
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Haydn1971 »

Planning application plans can be found here

The Scale Hall Junction seems very metropolis urban and sort of uncomfortable against the other local roads - I've never been to Lancaster, so I'm not sure just how busy the place is :¬/

Beaumont Junction, seems odd to me, almost there to get the main line of the road through a difficult land dispute, logic suggests that a left-in-left-out slip on both sides of the road would have been preferred but I'm guessing some local dispute has prevented the formation of a junction without the roundabout...

Interesting M6 solution, but I'd imagine the engineers have saved millions off the cost of forming a more traditional layout... Nasty M1 J19 bottlenect being formed here I suspect ! I think we are going to see a hell of a lot more of this in the next batch of motorway ATM schemes where junctions need remodelling to meet demand or suit large junction retail/warehousing developments...

The scheme as a whole seems pretty great, I'm a bit unsure about the freeflows on the roundabouts, almost waiting for a loads to slip off the side of a fully laden HGV ;¬) Last, its great to see the County Engineers Department doing the design over the recent trend of using big name consultants ;¬)
Regards, Haydn

:: Visit My roads in Sheffield mini site
:: View my photostream on Flickr
User avatar
Haydn1971
Member
Posts: 12426
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 14:16
Location: Sheffield
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Haydn1971 »

Oh, and in NCE today...
NCE wrote:The Department for Transport has approved the construction of a link road linking Heysham to the M6 motorway.
The road will ease congestion in the North West, taking traffic driving from Morecambe and Heysham away from Lancaster city centre.

The DfT has pledged the vast majority - £133M of the project costs, Lancaster council providing the remainder.

Transport minister Paul Clark said: "This scheme will significantly improve links for freight traffic between Heysham Port and the M6 and will also mean that all traffic travelling between the M6 and the Morecambe and Heysham peninsula will no longer have to journey through Lancaster city centre.

"This will bring much-needed congestion relief to Lancaster's historic centre, improve road safety and the local environment, as well as providing an opportunity to introduce better public transport.

"The Government is committed to investing in transport links, particularly when they help boost economic growth and regeneration. That's why I am pleased to announce £133M Government funding for the completion of the Heysham to M6 Link. "

The new 4.8km dual 2-lane carriageway will bypass the north of Lancaster and connect the A683 to junction 34 of the M6 motorway near Halton. 24 new structures, including new bridges crossing the West Cost Mainline, Lancaster Canal and the River Lune. A combined footway/cycleway will run along the full length of the road.

The funding package also includes a new design for junction 34 of the M6 with improved safety standards for the slip roads.

Phase 1 of the Heysham to M6 Link was completed in 1994, removing traffic from residential areas in Morecambe and Heysham but most of this traffic still travels through the centre of Lancaster to reach the motorway network.
Regards, Haydn

:: Visit My roads in Sheffield mini site
:: View my photostream on Flickr
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Bryn666 »

Haydn1971 wrote:Planning application plans can be found here

The Scale Hall Junction seems very metropolis urban and sort of uncomfortable against the other local roads - I've never been to Lancaster, so I'm not sure just how busy the place is :¬/
The picture shown on the planning booklet cover (queue on Greyhound Bridge) is a normal afternoon. It can take an hour to cross central Lancaster on a bad day, and at least 25-30 on a good day. If it's quiet, it's a surprise. The queues along the existing A683 from Scale Hall roundabout often trail back for over a mile both ways even outside of rush hours.

As for Beaumont Junction, mainly it's land owners around there who kicked up a fuss.
Haydn1971 wrote:Interesting M6 solution, but I'd imagine the engineers have saved millions off the cost of forming a more traditional layout... Nasty M1 J19 bottlenect being formed here I suspect ! I think we are going to see a hell of a lot more of this in the next batch of motorway ATM schemes where junctions need remodelling to meet demand or suit large junction retail/warehousing developments...
Far fewer traffic movements there - the existing Junction 34 is not a bottleneck for the A683 or M6, it's the narrow substandard slip roads that are the problem. It's already 3 lanes on Caton Road under the M6 and I've never been in a queue there. Remember the relief road is purely to keep everyone off the one way system in the city centre and to provide a new junction 34.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
Jeni
Banned
Posts: 7313
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2004 22:28

Post by Jeni »

Why can't that junction with the A6 be a GSJ? They are building a bridge, why not just add an extra pair of slip roads! Its like the A500 at Shavington and the A50 at Uttoxeter all over again!
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Bryn666 »

I'd rather have a roundabout than another public enquiry and another 5 years of design phase, Jeni. This scheme has been on and off in various guises since 1949 and I'd like to see it built before 2049.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
Richard (Barrow)
Member
Posts: 383
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 15:09
Location: Buckshaw Village

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Richard (Barrow) »

Looks like 7 firms are tendering for the job.

http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles ... -road.html
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35754
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Bryn666 »

Not long before Rebecca Lush and her Band of Merry Men turn up to protest against the road being built then.

Apparently the fields north of Lancaster are ecologically superior to all the other identical fields 40 miles either side. This link road is long overdue and despite the whinging of the local Green Party, I'd still rather it was built NOW.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
RichardA35
Committee Member
Posts: 5705
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2002 18:58
Location: Dorset

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by RichardA35 »

Richard (Barrow) wrote:Looks like 7 firms are tendering for the job.

http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles ... -road.html
Yes, documents awaited - however I'd get a nose bleed if I worked that far north
User avatar
Jonny A46
Member
Posts: 894
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 19:29

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Jonny A46 »

Junction 34 of the M6 is in urgent need of upgrading. Unfortunately, it was only originally for emergency access from the Lancaster By Pass (the nearest junction on either side was six or so miles away), or something like that, hence the rubbish GSJ. That GSJ should be on a road not far away - the A687...
User avatar
Nicholas
Member
Posts: 4695
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 18:37
Location: Bournemouth
Contact:

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by Nicholas »

Construction of the road may have to stop even if it is given planning approval as it has been suggested 15 otters have been found to be living on the banks of the River Lune at the point where a bridge is planned to cross.

Two new holts for the otters have been suggested further upstream, however Lancashire County Council believe the holts actually live further along the river.

BBC News story.
Voie Rapide / Mótarbhealaí
Updated 1 November 2019!
User avatar
A72
Member
Posts: 787
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 17:21
Location: Newtown St Boswells, Scottish Borders

Re: Heysham - M6 Link Road

Post by A72 »

Same old "We need alternatives!", followed by "Get cars off the road!" crap, I see. :roll:
The 7-Zone Challenge
A roads: 71/71
B roads: 181/181
Total: 252/252

Completed: 04/11/20.
Post Reply