The UK government has approved funding for the Heysham to M6 Link Road and work has already begun on the project due for completion in the summer of 2016.

This is one of Lancashire's top priority transport projects. The new road will complete the long awaited 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. The new road will provide better access for residents, businesses and tourists to the area. The Northgate and Morecambe road junctions will be reconfigured and all four slip roads will be opened before the whole scheme is completed.

“This is great news for Morecambe and the surrounding area,” said RHA Northern Regional Director Steve Biddle. “The new link road will complete the connection from the M6 at Junction 34 to the Morecambe Bypass; a junction that has been a source of congestion for years. Journey times will improve and it will provide a real boost for the local economy and will also mean new jobs.”

The Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said that £266m Local Pinch Point schemes have now been approved and that work would start on many of the new schemes in 2014. He also said that local highway authorities estimated that the 25 schemes would support more than 200,000 jobs and around 150,000 new homes.