Heysham to M6 link road, Lancaster

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Location Maps

This article covers the construction of the A683 Heysham to M6 link road (Bay Gateway) between 2013 and 2016.

The 1:50000 maps below pre-date the road construction.
The road runs from the A589/A683 junction at SD457632 (SW map square) heading NE, passing over the B5321 and the West Coast Main Line.
The road continues ENE passing over the Lancaster Canal to a junction with the A6.
The road passes under Kellet Lane to a new roundabout, north of the River Lune, crossing the river to a re-modelled M6 Junction 34 (SD496642).

Click on Map link below to display a current map square, which can be zoomed and scrolled, in a selection of formats.
Click on the gridsquare reference (e.g. SD4563) to display the standard Geograph page for that 1km square.

	Map link SD4664 link	Map link SD4764 link	Map link SD4864 link	Map link SD4964 link
Map link SD4563 link	Map link SD4663 link	Map link SD4763 link

History

M6 opening day	Skerton Bridge	Greyhound Bridge

The requirement for a new link road to Morecambe and Heysham was originally identified in the 1948 Road Plan for Lancashire. The M6 Lancaster bypass opened in 1960 to the east of the city. At that time there was only one road bridge (Skerton Bridge) across the River Lune at Lancaster – a significant bottleneck.
Morecambe and Heysham continued to grow. In the 1970s, construction of Heysham Power Station began. This coincided with the conversion of Greyhound Bridge from rail to road, providing a second bridge across the Lune. The Trimpell industrial site at Middleton was running down, although most of its freight traffic had been carried by rail. Ferries to Ireland and the Isle of Man continued, but all freight and most passengers were now transported by road.
The first stage of the link road (the easy bit) was not completed until 1994. This was the Heysham bypass, between the approach to Heysham Harbour (SD414603) and A589 Morecambe Road (SD457632).
At this time, it had not been decided whether the new road would pass to the north or west of Lancaster. The western route would cross the river downstream of Lancaster to reach the M6 at Junction 33 (SD496542). This would improve access to the south and west of Lancaster, in particular to the Luneside West industrial estate (which has poor access to the M6 and is now being covered with new houses). This route would be much longer, and even as a single carriageway would require more land than the dual carriageway northern route. Also, it would pass several environmentally sensitive sites. A possible shorter western route to a new M6 junction near the university was rejected.
Lancashire County Council selected the northern route in 2004, following a public consultation (which favoured the western route) and environmental assessments. This enabled the sub-standard Junction 34 to be rebuilt at the same time. Funding approval (which necessitated revised plans) and vociferous local objectors delayed the start of work until late 2013. Costain was appointed as main contractor.

It remains to be seen whether the new road cures congestion in Lancaster, or simply leads to more traffic growth and development along its length, as new roads usually do. The residents of Torrisholme will have to put up with noise, pollution and loss of views. They may also find their travel times do not actually improve.

Before Construction

The photos are arranged from west to east.


Morecambe Road ("McDonalds") roundabout to Barley Cop Lane


Lancaster Canal


Beaumont (A6)


Green Lane and Kellet Lane


Halton Road and River Lune


M6 Junction 34

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