£20million Thornton Link Road enters final stages of Completion...

New highway set to open this Spring, cutting journey times for people commuting between Southport and Liverpool

The Thornton to Switch Island Link Road is entering its final stages of completion with further surfacing works being carried out.

Contractor Balfour Beatty, on behalf of Sefton Council, has started to lay the main road surface at the new junction on Brickwall Lane.

Once that section has been completed, surfacing will continue on the main line between Holgate and Brickwall Lane.

Street lighting columns are being installed at the new roundabout and at Brickwall Lane while the drainage system and drainage ponds are in the final stages of completion.

Work has also started on preparing the road verges at the Thornton end of the scheme and the final phase of the works at Switch Island is scheduled to start at the end of February.

The project has experienced some delays in 2014, but the long-awaited bypass is expected to open in Spring 2015.

The new 2.8 mile link road will be known as the A5758 Broom’s Cross Road. Broom’s Cross is the site of a medieval wayside cross near Thornton.

When complete, the road is expected to reduce peak hour journey times by up to seven minutes between Thornton and Switch Island, making life easier for commuters travelling between Southport and Liverpool.

It will also take high volumes of ‘through traffic’ out of the communities of Netherton and Thornton.

Cllr Peter Dowd, Leader of Sefton Council, looks at how the new Thornton to Switch Island Link Road is progressing

Cllr Peter Dowd, Leader of Sefton Council, said: “It is becoming quite clear to see that this much needed road is nearing completion.

“Once finished, Brooms Cross Road will answer many years of calls for a bypass in this area and we thank residents for their continued patience.”

The road is costing £19.5million - with £14.5million from the Department for Transport and £5million from Sefton Council.

Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Transportation, said: “Like many major engineering projects, there have been some unforeseen challenges along the way, but our contractor Balfour Beatty is working very hard to hand over the completed road as quickly as possible.

“The scheme is really starting to take shape and once complete it will make a real difference to our network system.”

Updates on the scheme are regularly posted at www.sefton.gov.uk/thorntonlink and on Twitter @seftoncouncil

Story and Photo Source: Southport Visitor