A683 Lancaster Northern Bypass

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Type: Bypass or realignment for use by all traffic
Status: Preparation of legal orders and public inquiry
Authority: Lancashire County Council
Cost: £ 123m
Finance: Central Government/LCC
Timescale: 2012-2014
Length: 5.1 km (3.2 miles)

Scheme Outline

Construction of a new route from the existing dualled section of the A683 between Morecambe and Lancaster to junction 34 of the M6, providing a northern bypass for the city and improving motorway access for Morecambe and Heysham (including the ferry links to Ireland).

The new road will be dual two-lane (D2) standard, with signalised junctions provided at each end, one replacing the existing Morecambe Road roundabout. Half-way along the route there will be a roundabout and slip road to connect with the A6. At its eastern end, it will meet the M6 north of the Lune, with an entry slip road to the M6 northbound. A dual two-lane link road will cross the river to the existing junction 34, which will be improved to accommodate the new road and improve the sliproad alignments.

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Progress

14 March 2007	A public inquiry was held in February and residents are now awaiting the result.
14 March 2008	The scheme has been given approval and is expected to be complete in summer 2012. The cost has now risen from £85m to £106m.
14 July 2008	The County Council announces that the final cost of the scheme, including inflation to the time of opening, will be £138m.
4 June 2010	A contractor has been appointed to build the new road. Construction will not start until late 2010 at the earliest.
12 June 2010	The current scheme to renew the cabling with fibre optics between Preston and Carlisle has avoided a stretch of approx 1km from just south of J34 to north of J34; also some remedial barrier works have been halted near the planned site of the new north bound entry slip road. This may indicate that works are expected to start in the near future.
24 June 2010	LCC has suspended all work on this scheme pending the result of the spending review in autumn 2010.
27 October 2010	Funding for this scheme was confirmed in a statement by the Transport Secretary yesterday. The funding is subject to a 'best and final offer' from LCC - in other words, they must reduce costs.
31 January 2011	LCC's best and final bid for funding has been submitted to the DfT for consideration. Modifications made to the scheme have reduced the total cost from £139m to £123m.
5 February 2011	Funding for this scheme has been approved by the government with construction expected to start in late 2012.
27 June 2011	Additional public consultations are taking place during June and July 2011, prior to the submission of a revised planning application by LCC. Construction is not now expected to start before summer 2013.
2 July 2011	The new road will now be single carriageway rather than dual in order to reduce construction costs.
3 April 2012	The scheme has been accepted for examination by the IPC and now awaits final approval from the Secretary of State.