Road to Wigan Pier

Wigan Pier is an area around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, just southwest of the town centre. The name is humorous and ironic in nature, suggesting a seaside pier, when Wigan is, in fact, an inland and traditionally industrial town.

Bethell was engaged to deliver works to improve access and better connect Wigan Pier with the town centre. The Project, named ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’ after the famous George Orwell novel of the same name, comprises new cycling and walking facilities, improved lighting and safer crossing routes created for pedestrians.

The works at Wigan Pier comprised of a new cycling and walking route making for easier access through Wigan whilst providing incentive for people to leave cars at home and opt for a more carbon-friendly journey on foot or by bicycle. The works on this new route and facilities connect to the other schemes in the area, namely Victoria Street, and Smithy Brook Road, schemes that Bethell also delivered; further improving the walking and cycling experience for local people.

The scope of the works included:

As well as complementing new commercial developments in the area, the new route and facilities will connect to other schemes nearby and the wider network, which will further improve the walking and cycling experience throughout Wigan.

In addition to new cycle routes, we all installed 5 new benches along the route on Wallgate, creating a focus on well-being in the community and providing a vibrant new space where people can meet and relax at the historic Wigan location.

Works on this project, as with all highways-related works required close liaison with the community and local stakeholders to ensure minimum disruption to Wallgate and the surrounding area. Our Customer Liaison Team worked closely with stakeholders, including organising a community engagement forum for members of the community to have their voices heard.

To celebrate the completion of the works, Wigan Council organised a celebration ride of the new cycle lanes installed by Bethell. The ride was a steady 7 miles exploring the new Bee Network schemes including Road to Wigan Pier, Smithy Brook Road, Victoria Street, Robin Park/Saddle Junction and the A49 link road. The ride was an opportunity for keen cyclists within the community to test the new cycle lanes.

As part of our Social Value commitments, we presented a cheque to cover the cost of refreshments, that were kindly provided by The Brick Works Charity. Two Bethell employees who had worked on these schemes took part in the cycle and the cheque presentation with Contracts Manager, Gary Hunt.

Principle quantities: