Bridge proposal gets council nod

Aug 21 2008 by Adrian Short, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

THE prospect of a second Mersey bridge in Halton came a step closer to reality after councillors again voted unanimously to back the scheme.

Members of all major parties threw their weight behind the submission of a Transport and Works Act application to the Government at a full council meeting last week.

At the meeting it was also revealed that the overall cost of the bridge has risen by £41m since the plans were formally announced last year.

Planners said the hike has been caused by changes to the design and environmental works.

Additional work to deal with contaminated land and further refinements to the main bridge design have also affected the cost.

Bosses add that Government funding is already in place to deal with the increased outlay.

Cllr Tony McDermott, council leader and chairman of the Mersey Gateway executive board, said: “The unanimous approval for the scheme to proceed is great news.

“We have now been through a period of intense scrutiny of the project by a wide range of Government, professional expert and community representatives and the feedback we have had has been extremely helpful.”

Further key decisions affecting the future of the project will come from the Department for Transport, which is due to consider the TWA application and a series of associated legal orders in the next few months.

The project is expected to then go to a public inquiry, and if approved, will be operational by 2014.