The new road will complete the connection from the Heysham and Morecambe peninsula to Junction 34 of the M6, and will be a 4.8km dual carriageway with a footpath and cycleway along the entire route.
The project also involves a fully remodelled junction 34, with new slip roads, a new bridge over the River Lune and a 600 space park and ride site.
It has long been one of Lancashire County Council’s top priority transport schemes, with development consent being awarded in March 2013 following a lengthy process that included a six month examination period with three weeks of public hearings.
Campaigners against the link road, Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe (TSLM), had requested permission to apply for a judicial review to challenge the decision by the Secretary of State to grant approval for the project.
Following a two-day hearing held in July, a judgement was issued by the High Court in October, which rejected all five grounds put forward for the challenge and refused TSLM permission to make the application for judicial review.
TSLM made further applications to the Court of Appeal, asking for the High Court’s judgement to be overturned. The last of these was made yesterday during an oral hearing, when the judge again refused the application.
County Councillor John Fillis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “While I’m very satisfied at the strong judgement in our favour, I’m also extremely frustrated that objectors have cost the people of Lancashire an extra £2.6m by pursuing what amount to no more than delaying tactics.
“I went to see the depot being constructed earlier this week, and I’m looking forward to seeing work on the road itself start in earnest in the New Year.”
Costain recently began constructing an area to accommodate staff, offices and equipment needed to build the link road at an army camp on Halton Road leased from the Ministry of Defence.
The depot is scheduled to be completed in time to allow work on the road to begin in January.
The scheme will bring ongoing regeneration benefits, with 3,000 people due to be employed during construction alone.
Up to 100 local unemployed people will receive training and jobs during construction.
Andrew Langley, Costain project manager, said: “We are just looking forward to getting started on the construction of the new road. We have already engaged with several local companies, and have already started the local employment and training programme.”
