Improvements to Skew Bridge and Preston Road

We are carrying out work to improve Grimsargh Skew Bridge and nearby junctions on Preston Road.

This project will improve journey times for everyone and is being funded as part of our Bus Service Improvement Plan to make public transport more reliable. 

Planned work

• Widening the bridge so that all vehicles, including larger vehicles such as buses and HGVs, can easily cross the bridge in both directions without having to give way. 
• Installing a pedestrian crossing near Grimsargh St Michael’s Primary School to ensure people can cross safely. 
• Building two mini-roundabouts at the junctions with Ribblesdale Drive and Whittingham Lane to better manage the flow of traffic and improve residential access. 

View a detailed plan of the improvements

Traffic management

We recognise the importance of Preston Road to local travel, and are working to minimise the need for road closures and temporary traffic lights.
Temporary traffic lights are currently in place over the bridge for safety as the footbridge including its parapet (the wall at the side) has been removed to make way for the widening to be installed.

Work to date (updated Thursday 8 October)

June/July

Site compound set up at St Michael's Church, and preparations for work to begin.

July

Start of work on the bridge with the demolition of the western footway and preparations to install the new widened section.

August

Installation of a new mini-roundabout at the junction of Whittingham Lane and Preston Road.

September

Work to reroute drainage beneath the bridge away from the new footings which will support the bridge widening. This additional work has been needed as excavations beneath the bridge found drainage chambers which were not recorded on historic plans. As a result, we have had to change the original schedule for the remaining work.

Future work which may affect your journey

October

From Monday 13 October work will take place to construct the foundations for the bridge widening. This will involve some noisy piling work which will be restricted to the daytime.

November/December/January

Concrete beams will be lifted into position on the widened section of the bridge. Preston Road will be closed overnight for 1 night between midnight and 5am - the date will be advertised via on site signage and added to this webpage when finalised.

Pedestrian crossing to be installed next to Grimsargh St Michael's Primary School.

February

Preston Road will be closed for 1 week during the school half term holidays (Mon 16 - Fri 20) for the existing bridge parapet to be removed and new road surface to be laid.

High friction surfacing treatment will be applied next to the new pedestrian crossing following the resurfacing. Preston Road will be closed overnight for 1 additional night between midnight and 5am - the date will be advertised via on site signage and added to this webpage when finalised.

A new mini-roundabout will be installed at the junction of Preston Road and Ribblesdale Drive.

Diversions

Vehicles

During the closure of Preston Road a signed diversion suitable for all vehicles, including HGVs, will be in place via Preston Road (B6242), James Towers Way (A6), Whittingham Lane (B5269), and Cumeragh Lane (B5269).

Local traffic is expected to use a shorter route via Whittingham Lane (C359), Haighton Green Lane (C349), D’urton Lane (C349), Eastway (B6241), Andertons Way (B6242), Bluebell Way (B6242), Longridge Road/Preston Road (B6243) and vice versa.

Local drivers can use shorter routes.

Pedestrians

Pedestrian access along Preston Road will stay open via the Skew Bridge footbridge throughout the work, though there may be short-term diversions.

Pedestrian routes to St Michael's Primary School from the car park of Grimsargh St Michael’s Church will remain largely unchanged, while those under the bridge will be redirected to a temporary controlled crossing next to the school. This will later be upgraded to become the new permanent pedestrian crossing. 

Public transport

To maintain public transport connections when Preston Road is closed during the October school half-term break, a shuttle bus will operate between Grimsargh and Longridge, timed to connect with a service which will run between Longridge and Preston via Whittingham. A further service will operate between Preston Bus Station and Redscar.

We will update this website with a link to the full details and service timetables when available nearer the time of the closure.

Contact us

If you have any queries please email grimsarghbridge@lancashire.gov.uk or call our customer service centre on 0300 123 6780.