A project to deliver a major road upgrade in Cumbria could be finished by 2026, according to a new council report.
Council documents said work on the A595 Grizebeck Improvement Scheme could start in September 2024 subject to funding from the Department for Transport (and will have a 22-month construction period which is due to finish in June 2026 – but the contractual completion date is May 2028.
Members of the cabinet for Westmorland and Furness Council are recommended to approve proposals to accept the ‘expected but not confirmed’ funding of £23.3m from the Government and delegate authority to council officers to enter into a grant funding agreement.
The cabinet is also recommended to approve plans to delegate authority for the council to award stage two of a two-stage design and build contract to Story Contracting Limited.
The report prepared for the cabinet meeting on March 26 said: “This will allow the necessary enabling works to commence as soon as possible including relocation of utility companies’ apparatus before main construction work starts.”
The A595 Grizebeck Improvement Scheme is a proposed 1.4km single carriageway road between Chapels and Grizebeck on the A595. According to the report the road provides a ‘critical link’ for Cumbria.
The report says: “Despite this role, the route is affected by poor journey reliability and resilience due to the constraints of narrow carriageways, poor junctions and route alignment and as such represents a critical barrier to the future success of Cumbria’s economy.
“To support this level of growth, a major infrastructure upgrade is essential with the A595 Grizebeck Improvement Scheme improving strategic and local connectivity through improved journey times and better journey time reliability between Furness and West Cumbria.
“The route would also provide opportunities for walking, cycling, and public transport.”
The estimated total project cost of the scheme at full business case submission in November 2023 was between £24.634m and £27.428m.
This is based on a construction start in September 2024 and a 22-month construction programme.
According to the report the scheme is funded from £2.244m from the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP), £1.873m from the council, which was required to support the completion of detailed design, and submission of the FBC and the remaining request of up to £23.311m from the Department for Transport’s major road network funding programme.
The report said: “There is a risk of failure to keep to programme caused by a combination of events including acquiring land and inability to undertake enabling works in advance of start date resulting in a delay to the stage-2 start date, start of construction and an increase of costs due to inflation.
“In order to mitigate this risk, land negotiation has continued with landowners and agents to acquire land by negotiation before resorting to compulsory purchase order.
” Dialogue has continued with the Department for Transport in relation to the FBC approval and the contractor is being kept informed as far as possible.”
