Proposed Preston Western Bypass

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Herned
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Herned »

jackal wrote: Thu Oct 31, 2019 11:33
Herned wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 18:03 So a non-grade separated dual carriageway in flat farmland now costs £40m a km? How is that possible?
£161m for 4km at-grade DC sounds a lot. But that actually includes the new motorway junction - and as your typical rural expressway would not have more than one GSJ within 4km, you are basically paying expressway prices. There are four new bridges and two viaducts, and it's designed for 70mph, so the engineering is quite substantial.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/council/s ... stributor/
When Norway can build a motorway with a 7.8km tunnel for half this per km, there is something seriously amiss
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Bryn666
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Bryn666 »

Norway doesn't have land costs like we do.
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Herned
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Herned »

How much land does a km of road need? 5 hectares? Agricultural land in the UK costs at most £50k per hectare. Even if you are paying 4 times the going rate that's still only £1m a km, which comes nowhere near explaining the difference.

And labour costs in Norway are somewhat higher as well.
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jackal
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by jackal »

While UK costs are a little on the high side for Western Europe, publicly cited Norwegian costs are completely abnormal. I very much doubt that they're ten times as efficient (if so their companies would enter and dominate the larger UK market). I suspect it's mostly an accounting rather than actual difference. They spend tens of billions NOK (=billions of pounds) per year on state roads, which per capita is vastly higher than the UK.
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Herned »

jackal wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2019 00:28 ...if so their companies would enter and dominate the larger UK market...
This is the point really, the fact is companies from countries which seem to build roads vastly cheaper than we do aren't entering the market en masse... therefore the costs of building roads in the UK must be genuinely higher. It's that which I have not heard any reasonable explanation for.
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

The new road is taking shape this Spring with large scale earthworks next to the A583 towards the railway. Local side roads have been closed and work continues through the virus emergency. The viaduct over the Lancaster canal and railway is being constructed with works access via a temporary surfaced road off Lea Lane. The road is officially called the Preston Western Distributor.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/council/s ... stributor/
mercer
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by mercer »

Work continues apace on the PWDR. Costain have a dedicated Facebook page for the project and post regular drone updates for those who are interested.

In other news, the bridge beams for M55 J2 are being lifted into place overnight this week. Video available at https://www.facebook.com/PrestonWDR
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jackal
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

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A new junction – the ‘missing’ junction two – is currently being built along the M55 as part of the wider Preston Western Distributor Road (PWDR) build and an old footbridge over the motorway near the new junction will need to be removed before the project can be completed.

To allow the footbridge to be removed safely, the motorway will be closed in both directions between junction one at Broughton and junction three at Kirkham from 8pm on Friday January 21 until 6am on Monday January 24.

The motorway will re-open sooner if the work goes smoothly.
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n ... d-project/
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Bryn666 »

jackal wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 11:08
A new junction – the ‘missing’ junction two – is currently being built along the M55 as part of the wider Preston Western Distributor Road (PWDR) build and an old footbridge over the motorway near the new junction will need to be removed before the project can be completed.

To allow the footbridge to be removed safely, the motorway will be closed in both directions between junction one at Broughton and junction three at Kirkham from 8pm on Friday January 21 until 6am on Monday January 24.

The motorway will re-open sooner if the work goes smoothly.
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n ... d-project/
It's just a pity the benefits of this new road (e.g. much superior motorway access for Lytham, Freckleton, etc) will be swamped by the hundreds if not thousands of new houses it is being funded to facilitate the construction of. There's nothing in there that makes it look like they're trying to make Preston less car-dependent.
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Bryn666 »

What I've not been able to find anywhere is what they're planning to number this as.

To me, given the aspiration is to extend across the Ribble I'd just number it A582 and have done with it. There can be a multiplex via the existing Ashton Bypass (A583) and A59 Penwortham Bypass until the gap is plugged. This would be neater had LCC not signposted the Penwortham Bypass as A59 in one direction and A582 in the other, in a classic example of not knowing how numbering works.

But, what is more likely is some non-descript 4 digit A road like A5830 isn't it?
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Truvelo »

Given the current length that's being built a shoddy looking four digit number would be realistic. When/if it's extended south to Penwortham then I would suggest A59 is a better bet than A582 if the aim is to attract long distance traffic heading towards Southport and Ormskirk away from the northeast side of the Preston motorway box. Then again, A582 would be a nice consistent number for the south and western sides of the former motorway box. However if such schoolboy errors at Selly Oak and Maybole are anything to go by I wouldn't be surprised if it was numbered B59 :@
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Bryn666
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Bryn666 »

Truvelo wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 15:42 Given the current length that's being built a shoddy looking four digit number would be realistic. When/if it's extended south to Penwortham then I would suggest A59 is a better bet than A582 if the aim is to attract long distance traffic heading towards Southport and Ormskirk away from the northeast side of the Preston motorway box. Then again, A582 would be a nice consistent number for the south and western sides of the former motorway box. However if such schoolboy errors at Selly Oak and Maybole are anything to go by I wouldn't be surprised if it was numbered B59 :@
Given the A59 strikes east from Preston I can't see it making any navigational sense to fire it northwards - A582 all the way around would be the sensible option.
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Chris5156
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by Chris5156 »

Bryn666 wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 15:01But, what is more likely is some non-descript 4 digit A road like A5830 isn't it?
It goes to the M55, so my money is on A5555 :wink:
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by LoopyUpholland »

Herned wrote: Thu Oct 31, 2019 16:24
When Norway can build a motorway with a 7.8km tunnel for half this per km, there is something seriously amiss
Norway probably doesn't spuff money up the wall on getting consultations from every firm in the area as well as some chap who happened to be walking past called Bernard.
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traffic-light-man
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by traffic-light-man »

Bryn666 wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 15:01 What I've not been able to find anywhere is what they're planning to number this as.
I wouldn't put any money on it, but A582 would be my guess.
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JackieRoads
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by JackieRoads »

Google Earth Pro shows the imagery of the Preston Western Bypass under construction, so you know what it means.

It's gone ahead you guys :D
Fantasy Strip Map Creator- feel free to send me some requests!

As a wise roadie said, don't make any mistakes in building roads.
shampooefficient
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by shampooefficient »

I just like the name. If we still had highwaymen* then they could go out and do some Mandatory Banditry on the Preston Western.

*Highwaypersons
mercer
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by mercer »

traffic-light-man wrote: Tue Feb 08, 2022 13:18
Bryn666 wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 15:01 What I've not been able to find anywhere is what they're planning to number this as.
I wouldn't put any money on it, but A582 would be my guess.
Apologies for resurrecting this thread but all those who guessed A582 would appear to be right. Nothing announced but this has appeared on the LCC website:

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
(A582 PRESTON WESTERN DISTRIBUTOR ROAD AREA, PRESTON AND
FYLDE) (RED ROUTE CLEARWAY) ORDER 202*


https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/media/939 ... oposal.pdf

Halfway down this page: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/roads-par ... ders-tros/

The PWDR and E-W Link Road are both still on track to open in Spring this year.
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by fras »

I'm diving into this thread because last weekend we went out into the Fylde for a tootle following a visit to Barton Grange Garden Centre, (a big favourite of the missus, even though it's 63 miles, (yes really !!) from where we live near Crewe). So on the way back I decided to work my way around the west side of Preston to go south. The idea was to avoid using the M6 as this was supposed to be an outing, not a road-bash. I planned to use the B5253/5250 via Eccleston to get to Jn 27 M6.

The title of this thread is "Preston Western Bypass", but it seems to be nothing of the kind, because one still has to drive east on the A583 to Preston, then thread one's way south when almost in the centre of Preston. Quite a few years ago, I actually did this, but it seems a bit better signed now. One passes what seems to have once been a vast factory of some sort on The Strand before the overpass for the A59 is reached then it is a simple right turn and Bingo, one is now south of the Ribble !

So why no ambitions to reach the M65 stub near Lostock Hall ? Died a death I presume, as we're all supposed to be on bikes now?
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traffic-light-man
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Re: Proposed Preston Western Bypass

Post by traffic-light-man »

It isn't a bypass, it's a distributor road to 'unlock' land for development, along with the two link roads.

As for the M65 stub, that's due to see development as well, including the new cricket ground.

Essentially the missing link is just a bridge across the Ribble between Penwortham and Lea. It'd probably end up either needing to be pretty tall or a moving bridge as well.
Simon
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