Project
Westwood Way (A49)
Wigan, Greater Manchester
Project Information
Services:
Landscape Softworks, Landscape Management Plan
Clients:
Jones Brothers, National Highways, Wigan Metropolitan District Council
Other consultants:
BWB Consulting
Overview
A large civil engineering project with BWB Consulting engineers as lead designers to create a new dual carriageway entrance to Wigan, along a former railway embankment from Worsley Mesnes to Ince-in-Makerfield. Over 2km of road had to be sensitively integrated into the landscape of the Flashes and across the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The completed route includes two pedestrian and cycle footbridges.
DSA worked with BWB at Tender Stage to develop a ‘value-engineered’ design that still exceeded environmental and management aspirations. To achieve this we introduced low-maintenance species-rich grasslands along the length of the new embankment, with substantial blocks of tree and shrub planting to create visual ‘breaks’. These new features, combined with additional peripheral wetlands augment the considerable areas of neighbouring water enables the route to function more effectively as a wildlife corridor.
