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Roads News
Welcome to the LMARS newsdesk. This page will carry news events that
are interesting or useful to know, but it is not a real time traffic
information system or anything like that. It will be updated
periodically, but not on a consistent basis.
Freckleton Street Bridge:
Date: Janurary 2006-ongoing (until 2009)
An
£8 million
development to replace the 19th Century overpass at Freckleton Street,
part of the Orbital Route, has finally started in Janurary 2007 after a
legal wrangle over some land nearby. The original bridge has been
dismantled and relocated to a museum, and the new bridge is underway.
However, the effect on traffic is noticiable, with two diversions in
effect owing to the low bridge at Darwen Street. The junction of
Russell Street and the A666 is coned to a single lane each way to
facilitate a temporary merge layout. The new bridge is expected to open
fully to traffic in 2008.
Sudell Cross:
Date: April 2006-March 2007
Sudell
Cross is now completely different to what it was 12 months ago. There
is no access via Northgate to vehicles, and a single lane across a new
'square' has been created. It looks a vast improvement over the old
'roundabout', and the centrepiece is a 35 feet high structure nicknamed
the 'Lightsabre'. These
Darwen Improvement:
Date: April 2006-March 2007
The
one way
system in central Darwen has had extensive replacement works carried
out, and will be changed as part of the town centre masterplan. The
scheme will be complete later in 2006 but currently is causing a large
amount of traffic congestion. Unfortunately there aren't really any
suitable alternative routes for traffic to take, so people are having
to grin and bear the works. By February 2007 all the finishing touches
were in place and the scheme is now complete; but it is not without
problems - mainly due to poor phasing of signals at Darwen Circus.
A new bus lane is being constructed on the site of the former Belgrave Mill to bypass the Hardman Way junction.
Cardwell Place Closure:
Date: December 2005
Cardwell Place, the original start point of the B6233, has been closed
to through traffic as ongoing works to rejuvinate the town centre
continue. The diversion route is obviously along Lord Street West, but
traffic will ultimately be expected to use the A6078 - diversion signs
for traffic are already in place directing motorists via Freckleton
Street and King Street to reach Barton Street.
A6177 No More:
Date: July 2005
The notorious A6177,
Haslingden Road, has ceased to exist. As of June 2005, the road was
renumbered to the A6077. This was because the A6177 already existed as
the Bradford Ring Road. Therefore the Department for Transport will
have requested a renumbering to remove the duplication.
The A6177 is now the A6077 as far as the M65 at Shadsworth, and the
notorious Grane Road has been renumbered as the B6232, or its original
designation. However, these changes have only been signed by Blackburn
with Darwen council - Lancashire Council and the Highways Agency have
not amended signs on either the M65, A56, or B6232 itself. This anolomy
should therefore be rectified within time.
In February 2006, the B6232 was given a weight limit of 7.5 tonnes, and
signage on the M65 was amended to reflect the new numbering scheme.
The
new weight restriction on the B6232 Grane Road. The signs at the Grey
Mare have been amended for the third time in eight years!
A roundabout way of signing it - A6078:
Date: July 2005
The
Blackburn Orbital Route has been given a designated number, as of June
2005. Along with the renumbering of Haslingden Road, the Orbital Route
has been assigned an A607x number. These two numbers were originally
assigned to routes in Northumberland, but had been declassified in the
past. There are now plenty of A6078 signs in Blackburn directing
traffic around the town's ring road. This has involved replacement of
virtually every direction sign within a 3 mile radius of the town
centre - the last time such a comprehensive signage audit was carried
out was around 1970, some 35 years ago.
A Vue to a Kill:
Date: July 2005
Peel Retail Phase 3 has
finally opened, bringing a brand new multiplex cinema and bowling alley
to the town centre. It has also provided ample parking for the railway
station as well as creating a brand new pedestrian throughway which
removes a large detour around the centre of town. The effect on the
local road network is that another set of signals has been installed
between Audley and Townsmoor Junctions, and there are now brand new
tourist destination signs scattered around the town.
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