Broughton Bypass to see ‘preservation’ work due to surface issues

James Towers Way – the Broughton Bypass – is in need of repair Pic: Google

A major bypass route in the north of Preston is due to be resurfaced despite being operational for less than six years.

A quarter of a million pounds is to be spent on preventing a break-up in the surface of the Broughton Bypass.

The long-awaited relief route – officially named James Towers Way – carried its first vehicles in October 2017, but is showing “early signs of distress”, according to a report presented to Lancashire County Council cabinet members.

The carriageway will now be coated with a special varnish-like substance that protects relatively new roads against wear and tear caused by traffic and bad weather.

The work will be funded from an additional £5.1m government grant received by County Hall, which is Lancashire’s share of an extra £200m pot for highways maintenance which was announced in the Chancellor’s budget in March.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that the decision to carry out what has been described as “preservation” work on the Broughton Bypass relates to an issue with some of the points in the road where one day’s surfacing work stopped and the next began during construction of the route. Unavoidable temperature differentials in the surface material used at these so-called “transverse joints” has led to them now needing attention.

The cabinet meeting at which the work was approved was told that “early intervention” of the type proposed was “the most cost-effective” option and would prolong the life cycle of the £32m dual carriageway on what is now part of the busy A6.

Members also heard that the treatment work would stave off the need for reactive maintenance work at a later date, should any problems become more obvious. At the moment, they are currently visible only to the trained eye.

No date has been decided for the start of the works on the bypass, which was first mooted back in the 1970s but took 40 years to come to fruition. It has since served to slash the volume of traffic in the centre of Broughton village, which has since been transformed with a new highway layout and public realm.