A49 Link Road, Wigan

A new road way to connect Wigan Town Centre to J26 of the M6/M58 with the hope of relieving congestion and generate economic growth for the area.

Wigan Council’s plan to generate economic growth and improving local infrastructure  were boosted when funding support was offered from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Growth Deal. With £40 million recently invested in the area privately, the focus was now on improving transport links and financially growing the local economy.

Permission was already granted with a completion date of Spring 2020. Wigan Council contracted Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK, who will drive the project linking Warrington Road and Goose Green to Westwood Park and the town centre.

As work started, Janson Bridging was called in to bridge across a brook to enable all construction vehicles to be kept off the main roads and causing more congestion. Respecting the local area which had a school in close proximity meant that Janson worked around time restrictions on site to protect the school children and parents as well as the standard levels of Health and Safety.

A 10.5m x 4.2m JSK Beam bridge was used for this project which transported A30 Dump trucks. We were asked to design the bridge for a 70 tonne load capacity.

Once complete, the road will provide benefits such as better access to jobs in the area and encourage businesses to invest in the area with the improved links.