Cash to carry out a major upgrade of a section of the A595 has been accepted.
Members of the cabinet for Westmorland and Furness Council approved proposals to accept funding of £23.3m from the Department for Transport and delegate authority to officers to enter into a grant funding agreement.
Council documents say work on the A595 Grizebeck Improvement Scheme could start in September and will take 22 months, due to finish in June 2026, although the contractual completion date is May 2028.
Director of thriving places Angela Jones said: “We had an announcement yesterday regarding the contribution to the Grizebeck improvement through the Team Barrow funding.
“We’ve also had confirmation separately that the full amount will be funded by the Department for Transport for the Grizebeck Improvement Programme subject to the final sign off of the business case and grant agreement.
“In terms of lining up where we need to go next, we will be using the delegation and working with lead members to ensure we’ve got sufficient funding to award the contract but it’s looking very promising.”
Through the Team Barrow funding, £10.59 million had been given for the completion of the A595 Grizebeck Bypass upgrade scheme.
The cabinet also approved 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 says: “This will allow the necessary enabling works to commence as soon as possible including relocation of utility companies’ apparatus before main construction work start.”
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 said: “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, £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 DfT’s major road network funding programme.
