How the loop road paved the way for travel across West Lancashire
IN October 1920, Lancashire County Council announced their plans to construct a loop road on the westerly side of Ormskirk, West Lancashire to alleviate the problems of traffic through the town having to drive through the 14 feet wide Burscough Street.
By August 1921 the County Council announced that the Ministry of Transport had agreed to fund 50% of the estimated £60,000 cost from the Road Fund.
In August 1922 the plans were published to show the route the road would take.
The new road was to run for a one and a quarter miles through the fields, splitting from the Turnpike road, 200 yards into the then Burscough.
Ormskirk boundary, cutting across Moss Lane (later Yew Tree Road) and Green Lane and then curving in to cross the Ormskirk to Southport Road.
House numbers 1, 3 and 5 Halsall Lane would be demolished but they would be the only buildings affected. The road then re-joined the Turnpike Road at Town End.
The road continued to be called the New Road’ and then ‘Bye Pass Road’ until renamed County Road.
Ormskirk’s proposed new bye-pass Just 400 yards of the road was actually within the Ormskirk Boundary when it was built, the rest was in either Aughton or Burscough.
The junction with Burscough Road was problematic as the Burscough Road was the Turnpike and therefore the traffic from the bye pass had to join the Turnpike Road at a junction.
In 1923, a Wavertree driver was charged with driving his vehicle to the danger of the public’ on the New Road where he collided with a new Rolls Royce.
In July 1925, the first fatality occurred due to an accident on the New Road.
The Assistant Official Receiver for Liverpool, Ralph Angus Nugent Briscoe aged 37 and his travelling companion Mrs Ada Isabella Chivers nee Evans aged 33, wife of Bristol Builder, Arthur Victor Chivers of Norton Lodge, Clifton, were on their way back from the Lake District when they were involved in a serious accident close to the five-ways junction.
Both were taken to the Cottage
Hospital and both died the same night. The impact was so severe that the lorry that collided with them was wedged into the side walk’ up to its axle.
An eye witness was walking in the road southwards towards the junction when he heard the impact and turned and saw the two-seater car being hit by the North Bound lorry and the car jumped into the air and landed in the hedge ten feet away.
The driver of the lorry, Jack Hardcastle