A TRADITIONAL turf-cutting ceremony has taken place to mark the start of the work on the A574 Birchwood Pinch Point project.
The £5.23m scheme aims to tackle congestion and improve road safety around Birchwood Park, with improvements being made at three of the junctions along Birchwood Way.
The plans include improvements to the Oakwood Gate ‘Dog bone’, converting the Moss Gate roundabout to signals, as well as the introduction of a bus only link from Faraday Street roundabout to Ordnance Avenue reducing journey times for passengers.
The ceremony was attended by Councillor Terry O’Neill Leader of Warrington Borough Council, Howard Hopwood, Deputy Chair of the Cheshire and Warrington LEP, representatives from Warrington & Co. and contractor, Balfour Beatty.
Cllr Terry O’Neill, Leader of Warrington Borough Council said: “This funding is vital to keep business on the move and ensure that our growth ambitions for Warrington East and Warrington are achieved.
“We plan to start works on improvements to Junction 8 of the M62 and the link bridge from Chester Road into Centre Park next year’.
The project has been made possible thanks to funding secured as part of the Growth Deal for Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), together with contributions from Warrington Borough Council and Birchwood Park.
The Cheshire and Warrington LEP have contributed more than £2million of Local Growth Deal funding to the total cost of this project, with Warrington Borough Council providing £2million from the Council’s capital programme.
The project will use local suppliers, putting money back into the community.
Howard Hopwood, Deputy Chair of The Cheshire & Warrington LEP, added: “This is a key project for Warrington that will help to protect existing jobs and create further employment opportunities, as well as improving working life for so many people commuting to Birchwood Park.
“The LEP are delighted to be using Local Growth Deal funding received from the Government to help tackle the congestion problems, making this area more attractive for future investment and supporting its continued economic success”.
