Work underway on £200 million Carlisle Southern Link Road

A tree planting ceremony was held on Wednesday, June 7 in Newby West to mark the beginning of construction with representatives from Cumberland Council, the former Cumbria County Council and road contractors, Galliford Try present at the launch event.

A tree was also planted at the ceremony (Image: Stuart Walker)The new road will connect Junction 42 of the M6 with the A595 at Newby West and is 'vital' for the economic growth of Carlisle and to deliver the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village that will deliver 10,000 new homes over the next 30 years.

The main construction works will commence in earnest now following a few months of mobilisation, during which activity across the site has increased.

Construction is anticipated to take at least two years with the road open to the public in the summer of 2025.

Cllr Denise Rollo, who is the member for Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places on Cumberland Council said that the project was a ‘major milestone’ for Carlisle.

“It’s a really important day,” said Cllr Rollo.

“It's a major milestone in the development of the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village and for the connectivity from Newby West here to the motorway.

The sharp rise in the cost of materials over the past year has forced the total cost of the project to £212 million with additional funding being supplied by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Several bridges are set to be built along the CSLR with the longest being over 180m (Image: Cumberland Council)But despite financial pressures, the managing director of Galliford Try remains confident that the project will come in on time and on budget.

“The things that are going on in the macro-economic climate present a challenge but we're alive to that challenge,” said David Lowery.

“It's a big project. We've got the team mobilized and that will continue to ramp up as we move forward.

“So, we are live to the challenge and there's general concern around how we manage that globally, but for this project, we've got all that built into our thinking.”

Mr Lowery also that a ‘high percentage’ of the work involve local businesses and supply chains and that the company were committed to ‘invest’ in the local area.

The CSLR project was previously planned by the former Cumbria County Council before being taken on by Cumberland Council and has had the support of politicians from across the political divide.

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John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle, said: “The £212 million investment into our city to improve our infrastructure, will ensure that the West of Carlisle has a direct route to the M6 without having to go through the city.

“I look forward to work beginning on this project that will improve road connections for thousands of my constituents. It will also improve access to the west of the county, better connecting Cumbria for residents and visitors.

Cumberland Council leader, Cllr Mark Fryer said that delivering the project on time and on budget was the ‘mantra’ for the council.

Work has now begun on the road with the full link road set to be open for the public in two years.