Formby Cycleway, adjacent to the A565 Formby By-Pass, is a historic cycle path which was originally opened in 1938 and ran for a four mile stretch alongside the Formby By-Pass.
At the time of it’s official opening on the 17th December 1938 the bypass itself was considered to be such a technological innovation, because in parts due to the adjacent cycleway, that Lancashire County Council (prior to Sefton Council) produced a 16-page commemorative brochure for the opening which included a map which showed the location of the dais from which the Earl of Derby, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire made a ribbon-cutting speech to a large group of people.
With the introduction of motor vehicles and their general usage growing over time, the number of cyclists using the original road had also seen an increase in it’s use – with an average number of cycles on a daily basis increasing from 530 to 2291 between 1928 to 1938, and the updates were considered an essential infrastructure upgrade.
A lot has changed since those original days but the continued use of the cycleway has not – with it being used regularly by both cyclists and pedestrians / runners as well as horse-riders.
Part of a £14 million pound investment by Active Travel, the Formby Cycleway upgrade has seen Dowhigh convert the 2245m section adjacent to Woodvale from a cycleway to a cycle-path / footpath by reducing the width from 2.5m to 2m for the cycleway, creating a specific footpath alongside.
The project, which began in February 2023 and completed in August 2023 saw Dowhigh:
- Excavate approximately 1000m3 of existing materials
- Reuse 400m3 of recycled MOT type 1
- Install 1200 sqm of Geocell tree root protection system to stop future damage of the new footpath and cycleway
- Installation of 2019lm delinator cycle kerbs
- Installation of 2050lm of concrete and timber edgings
- Install 52 new drainage gullies and connections
- Install 50 new additional gully pots
- Install 2085lm of concrete channels
- Lay over 2365sqm porous surfacing materials
- Lay over 7135sqm traditional surfacing materials
- Resurface the carriageway at the entrance of RAF Woodvale
- Install new tactile paving at crossing points
- Install new signage and lining
Dowhigh collected 976.2 tonnes of construction waste generated during the delivery of the project. All this construction waste was diverted from landfill and recycled in our in-house recycling yard. Dowhigh were also able to use 840.06 tonnes of our recycled material which was developed from the waste generated on the scheme. This process created an end-of-life treatment for 86% of the construction waste generated on the scheme. This equates to a carbon emission saving of approximately 4.07 TCO2e.
We’re pleased to have completed what has been a challenging, but rewarding project for Sefton Council. The new cycle path and footway will make travelling along the by-pass a safer journey for all.
Brian Morrey, Director Dowhigh Ltd
The updates to the cycle path look great and it means that, as a cyclist, I’m not having to worry about pedestrians who now have their own path.
Cyclist and local Formby resident