A582
| A582 | ||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||||||||
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| From: | Lostock Hall (SD556252) | |||||||||
| To: | Becconsall Bridge (SD524286) | |||||||||
| Distance: | 4.9 miles (7.9 km) | |||||||||
| Meets: | (M65), A6, A5083, B5254, B5253, A59, M55 | |||||||||
| Old route now: | A6, B5254 | |||||||||
| Highway Authorities | ||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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A582 is a short but crucial Lancashire road that forms a southern and western bypass of Preston. It runs from the A6 junction with the end of the M65, north of Leyland, and then heads back towards Preston centre. In 2024, network changes following the completion of the £207m Preston Western Distributor Road project (opened 3rd July 2023) have created a full western loop of the city to meet the M55 at the long-missing Junction 2. The long term aspiration is for a new crossing of the River Ribble to connect the PWDR and Penwortham Bypass, but funding and environmental challenges may result in delays to this project.
Route
Lostock Hall - M55 Junction 2
Starting on the A6 Bamber Bridge bypass just north of M65 Junction 1A, the A582 strikes westwards towards Lostock Hall as a 1990s era dual carriageway (improved with the Bamber Bridge bypass, itself dualled to accommodate the additional traffic the M65 brought). This is short lived as the road meets the B5254 at a large signalised junction which replaced a conventional roundabout. The presence of a large World War I memorial to the north east provides a useful and poignant landmark for navigation, but the A582 itself continues west as a single carriageway built in the 1970s as an interim project related to the long abandoned Central Lancashire New Town. The long term aspiration was always for a motorway box around Preston but the decision to widen the Preston Bypass (M6) along with the cancellation of the Liverpool to Preston M59 meant this was scrapped.
The single carriageway section is prone to peak time congestion as it passes through numerous roundabouts and signal junctions all recently modified to try and cope with the volumes of traffic (again, the long term plan is to now dual this length as the "Box" has risen from the dead as a watered down all-purpose road project funded by the 2010s City Deal). The route turns north and eventually meets the newly built Penwortham Bypass extension (diverting the A59 in the process!) which now is subservient in a multiplex across the River Ribble. The A582 branches off to run along Strand Road before taking over the Ashton Bypass (former A583). When the Ashton Bypass meets the A5085 at a vast fork interchange a new roundabout allows the route to turn northwards again onto the Preston Western Distributor which then runs through several roundabouts designed to allow development on the north side of Preston before it meets the M55 and ends. A motorway service area is being considered at this junction.
History
A582 previously took a slightly different route, running from the A49 south of Preston, due north, but ultimately came out near the centre of Preston at the foot of the Penwortham Bridge. This route is now mostly the B5254.
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