Contractor appointed to design huge new section of Wigan link road project

Balfour Beatty will be tasked with shaping the section which will connect junction 26 of the M6 at Orrell to the A49 link road at Goose Green and open up new opportunities for housing and development.

It will work with the council to offer design and construction advice and develop more efficient proposals, which will aim to minimise disruption and provide a scheme that is value for money.

Leader of Wigan Council David Molyneux said: “The M58 link is a key part of our ambitions to be a well-connected place as set out in our new strategy, The Deal 2030.

“In order to ensure we can deliver a successful scheme, we have appointed Balfour Beatty early in the process. Engaging with contractors prior to construction taking place is important to ensure a collaborative approach and helps us to shape proposals together.

“Balfour Beatty is extremely experienced in this field – they understand the high-profile nature of the scheme and its integral part in growing the economy. We know there needs to be major upgrades to our infrastructure, so these works will go a long way in reducing congestion and improving connectivity.”

Once complete, the M58 link road will mean quicker travel time across the borough and a reduced traffic on the busy Ormskirk Road.

Balfour Beatty project director Will Singleton said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Wigan Council on the M58 link road project, offering them our expertise in design and construction.

“This scheme will help to alleviate traffic on Ormskirk Road - one of Wigan borough’s busiest routes – whilst vastly improving connectivity for the travelling public.”

The council has already started some advanced works to prepare for the link road including protecting and diverting utility services and re-locating a local rugby pitch, which has resulted in the creation of two additional full-sized pitches and a smaller training pitch.

Coun Molyneux added: “Undertaking these preparatory works last year means we’re in a better position to meet our construction timescales.

“We will continue to work with the club throughout this transition process and hope to see them benefit from the new facilities in the future.”

Following the design process, the council will appoint a construction contractor with a view to start on site in 2021.

Wigan Council may already have approved the road plan, but this section of it has attracted opposition from the start, particularly from residents who bought newly built homes on Pemberton’s Meadow Brook estate and say they were not informed that there were still intentions to run a big road through the middle of the land.

If it follows the current route, it will cut off some of the houses from Pemberton.

As well as access, there are also concerns about noise, safety and environmental issues such as pollution and flooding.

Claire Ormshaw-Heddle, a spokesperson for the Say No to the M58 link road, said that while there was a certain amount of resignation that the road would now be built, she said that she hoped that representatives from the group might sit down with the local authority to seek some compromises which would mitigate the problems the route would cause.

Preparatory work has already been taking place, St James’s rugby club landing cash to move one of its pitches because the road would cut across the corner of its previous siting.

The road is what used to be called Route 225 and has been on the council’s wish list for decades, linking the M6 with the M61 at Westhoughton if ever completed.