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A59 at Brockholes Brow to be closed over summer following 2021 landslip

Posted on - 10th May, 2022 - 1:21pm | Author - | Posted in - Brockholes, Fishwick, Preston Council, Preston News, Ribbleton, Roads, St Matthews, Transport
Brockholes Brow Pic: Google
Brockholes Brow will be closed over summer Pic: Google

The A59 at Brockholes Brow is due to be closed over the summer for vital work to stabilise an embankment.

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A lane has been closed on the road since March 2021 when a small landslip occurred on a steep wooded embankment next to the road, resulting in part of the slope encroaching on to the road.

Read more: Emergency lane closure in place on A59 at Brockholes Brow following landslip

Monitoring over the past six months has found that the embankment is continuing to move at a rate of around 10cm a month, with intervention being urgently needed to stabilise it and restore the full width of the road and pavement.

Work is scheduled to begin on Monday 25 July to stop the embankment from moving and mitigate the risk of a bigger landslip occurring if left in its current state.

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Brockholes Brow 2021 landslip Pic: Lancashire County Council
Brockholes Brow after the landslip last year Pic: Lancashire County Council

The closure will have a major impact on access to and from the east of Preston, as well as travel north or south via the M6 motorway.

Work is expected to take up to seven weeks, with the road needing to be fully closed in both directions for all vehicles and pedestrians for safety and to allow access for the heavy machinery needed.

The scheme has been scheduled during the school holidays when traffic levels are lower to minimise disruption as much as possible, and work will take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to minimise the duration of the closure.

Preston City Council owns the embankment where the landslip has occurred, and has engaged Lancashire County Council as the highways authority for the area to design a solution and carry out the work.

Read more: ‘Difficult’ and ‘inconvenient’ bus services in Preston set to be tackled

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The project involves:

  • Installing large sheet metal piles as a retaining structure along a 40-metre length of the embankment
  • Building a 1.2m high retaining wall along the same length
  • Installing drainage to help protect the embankment from wet weather in the future
  • Removing excess material from the bottom of the slope to restore the full width of the road and pavement
  • Landscaping work and planting species native to the existing woodland
  • Removing the current lane closure and restoring the 40mph speed limit

While the road is closed the County Council is also planning a range of other routine highway maintenance in the vicinity to avoid the need for further lane closures in future and minimise the overall level of disruption.

Early consultation on the proposed closure has already taken place with emergency services and National Highways, who are responsible for the M6 motorway, and a notice has recently been posted on Lancashire County Council’s website.

Residents in the vicinity are due to receive a letter very shortly, and Preston City Council is currently in the process of visiting local businesses to inform them of the situation.

Read more: Preston reacts to Ringway roadworks one year after £14.7m revamp announced

Adrian Phillips, Chief Executive at Preston City Council, said: “It’s vital that we carry out this work to safeguard the A59 by stabilising the embankment on Brockholes Brow, and unfortunately the only way to do this is to fully close the road due to the scale of the work which is needed.

“The embankment is still moving towards the road following the landslip which occurred in 2021 and, without this scheme to stabilise it and retain the banking, the situation would keep getting worse until there would be no option but to close the road for safety anyway.

“This will clearly be very disruptive, particularly for people who use this route regularly, local businesses, and those who live nearby, and we’re very sorry for the impact this will have on them, however we’ll be making all efforts to minimise this by working around the clock to get the road reopened as soon as we can.

“We are in the process of visiting local businesses, and residents in the immediate area should receive a letter in the next few days. While we can’t do anything about the need to close the road, we will do our best to answer any queries people may have and respond to any issues people may want to raise.”

Read more: Preston City Council tweet about council tax rebate attracts scathing replies

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Signs will be put up on the approaches to Brockholes Brow from early June to inform passing motorists of the closure.

Signed diversions will be put in place when the work starts:

  • Via Blackpool Road and Garstang Road for M6 eastbound traffic
  • Via New Hall Lane, London Road, Victoria Road, Church Brow and Cuerdale Lane for Blackburn eastbound traffic
  • Via Cuerdale Lane, Church Brow, Victoria Road, London Road and New Hall Lane for Preston westbound traffic


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