22/7/2009 - CNDR - a vision of the future

A new computer-generated 'flythrough' along the route of the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR) is now available online so that people can see what the road will look like once it opens in 2012.

The long-awaited new western bypass for Carlisle was given the green light this month after Cumbria County Council and Connect CNDR  signed the contract which cements a 30-year partnership.

Connect CNDR will build the new 8.25km (5.13 mile) single-carriageway by-pass which runs from the A595/U1161 junction near Newby West, skirts the western edge of Carlisle, crosses the River Eden and the West Coast Mainline railway before joining the M6 at junction 44. The road will cut journey times through Carlisle and also reduce by thousands the number of HGVs and cars travelling through the city centre.

Connect CNDR will also take on the maintenance of a further 148km (92 miles) of existing roads in North Cumbria, namely parts of the A7, A594, A595, A596, A689 and the A6071. From the general public's perspective, the handover will be seamless and Cumbria County Council will remain the single point of contact for the public for these roads, with the Highways Hotline still covering the whole of the county council's 4,784-mile road network.

The total value of the scheme is £176m.

The deal has been made possible thanks to Department for Transport approval of £158m worth of PFI (Private Finance Initiative) funding for the scheme. PFI (also known as PPP, or Public Private Partnership) works by the contractor financing the construction of the new road, and then recovering the capital cost over the 30-year life of the contract.

The combination of building a new road and a contract to maintain existing roads is the first PFI deal of its kind for a local authority in the UK. The reason why it is a combination of both is that the new build by itself would not be a large enough project to qualify for PFI funding.

Now that the contract has been awarded, work can continue at full pace to build a temporary bridge alongside Kingmoor Railway Bridge so that the main structure can be demolished at Christmas 2009.

Connect CNDR will take on responsibility for its part of the existing road network from October 1st 2009 and construction will begin on the northern end of the new road on October 19th 2009. The northern end of the new road will be open by August 2011, with the whole road open by April 2012.

£11m worth of preparatory work has already been carried out, including a connection into the existing roundabout at junction 44 of the M6. All of the necessary ecological surveys and tree felling work has already been carried out so that the main construction can begin as soon as possible. A small area of the new road's route is still undergoing archaeological work on some Mesolithic features, but the work programme has been formulated to fit round this. 

View computer-generated 'flythrough' video

ENDS

Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 226332