Road bridge connecting the M6 to other key routes is not being ruled out

A new road bridge over the River Ribble could still be built if the government stumps up most of the cash. Lancashire highways bosses responded to the idea of a new western crossing between Lea and Penwortham following the opening of the Preston Western Distributor Road last week.

The bridge has long been floated as a possibility as part of a vision to create an uninterrupted dual carriageway between the A582 at Cuerden and the M55 at Bartle, via the Penwortham bypass – which would funnel traffic making that journey away from Preston city centre and the surrounding area and so reducing congestion. In 2019, an independent study put a new cross-river connection at the heart of its recommendations for how to improve travel in and around Preston.

The Preston City Transport Plan cautioned against dismissing the idea as too ambitious, suggesting that the bridge would be the final piece in the puzzle to create a coherent ring road around the city, enabling new and widened routes either side of the river to join up with the M55 to the north and the M6 to the east. The completion of the Preston Western Distributor – now officially known as Edith Rigby Way – was a key part of making a new crossing worthwhile.

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With that £207m route now having been delivered, Lancashire County Council has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the bridge project was still an ambition on the horizon – but warned that it may be a distant one.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “A new River Ribble crossing remains an aspiration and a feasibility study was undertaken, funded by the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal. A