THE construction of a £19.89 million river crossing to tackle town centre congestion has been completed.

The bridge over the River Mersey, south of Centre Park business park, connects Chester Road and Slutchers Lane.

The crossing is a key part of the Centre Park link road project which aims to reduce congestion in the town centre, provide additional route choice, unlock brownfield land for housing development and create job growth at the business park.

The council says the major highway project is on schedule and should be complete and fully open to traffic in early 2021.  The bridge is currently only open to diverted traffic.

The scheme consists of the new crossing, new signal junction to connect the bridge to Chester Road, resurfacing of Slutchers Lane and new signals at the junction of Slutchers Lane with Wilson Patten Street.

Additional walking and cycling paths and crossing facilities are also to be provided.  Once complete, the link will connect Chester Road with Wilson Patten Street.

Council leader Cllr Russ Bowden said: “The Centre Park link scheme will support Warrington’s ongoing growth and transform journeys around one of our most busy road networks.

“It’s fantastic to see this scheme – so vital to Warrington’s future growth – moving ahead and the bridge completed. I’m delighted that the project is progressing so well.”

A number of partners have provided the funding for the £19.89 million project.

A total of £5.3 million has been contributed by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership via the local growth fund.

The Government, via Homes England, has contributed £3.7 million as part of the housing infrastructure fund, with the remainder of the funding coming from council borrowing.

For more details about the scheme visit warrington.gov.uk/centreparklink