Transformative Lancashire bypass is unveiled

A new era for travel in a busy area of Lancashire has been ushered in with the completion of a major upgrade.

The new A585 Windy Harbour to Skippool bypass in Poulton-le-Fylde, built around the village of Little Singleton, is now fully open to traffic. Approximately three miles of new road has been added around the village, bringing much-needed capacity to deliver smoother and more reliable journeys. 

Since the first spade hit the ground in this transformative scheme, the workforce has built three bridges, laid 100,000 tonnes of road surface material, recycled around 500,000 tonnes of site material (equivalent to the weight of more than 1,000 jumbo jets) and utilised more than 25 local companies.

The bypass will reduce congestion and improve safety, while removing a major bottleneck on the main road to Fleetwood and combating the heavy traffic that traditionally builds between Windy Harbour and Skippool during peak traffic hours.  

Our Senior Project Manager Tom Peckitt said: “We are absolutely thrilled to fully open the bypass to road users. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and, crucially, a lot of patience and understanding from residents and road users alike. 

“We would like to thank them for bearing with us while we put the finishing touches to this highly complex engineering project. Their patience will be rewarded with vastly improved journeys.” 

We have worked in partnership with Kier to deliver the bypass.

Jon Hornsby, project director at Kier said: “This has been a great project to deliver and we’re really pleased to open it to road users. Those working on the project, including our teams and our supply chain partners have showcased a high level of technical expertise throughout.

“The team was also able to leave a positive lasting legacy from community engagement initiatives including school visits, work experience, work placements and fundraising, using local small and medium-sized enterprises and more.” 

MP for Fylde Mark Menzies also welcomed the landmark occasion. He said: “It is fantastic to see the bypass fully open and operational, reducing congestion and speeding up journey times. As the second of three major highways projects, Fylde is benefitting from hundreds of millions of pounds of investment that will boost jobs and investment. The A585 bypass will make it easier for working people, school pupils and visitors to travel around the north of Fylde, improving links between some of our more rural communities with Poulton and other larger towns.”

Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, added: "I am grateful for the hard work which has gone into this project. Local motorists have been very patient awaiting the full opening of the bypass, which represents a landmark moment. It is important the new road delivers the promised benefits and the work to achieve that continues.”

The bypass was opened in a phased approach before Christmas, but this full opening means drivers can enjoy the benefit of all four lanes and new junctions. 

Finishing work will be carried out at the Shard and Little Singleton junctions, and along Mains Lane. The improvements to Mains Lane will reflect its new function as a local road which will be handed back to Lancashire County Council. 

Landscaping works also continue, such as finishing the planting of 72,000 trees and shrubs. Most of this work will be away from the road but may require occasional lane closures on the bypass to keep our workforce safe.

You can find out more about the scheme by visiting our project webpage.