Warrington is a town blighted by congestion

Ok, well the chaos on the roads that which reduced the town to complete gridlock on Friday night may not be a weekly nightmare.

But it is certainly not unusual.

And anyone who has tried to get around Warrington on a Saturday, or simply for commuting in the morning and evening rush hour, will know this is a town blighted by congestion.

New bridges are being suggested, work is currently taking place on Sankey Way and Knutsford Road to improve the situation on two of the major routes into town.

But what is the long term situation?

Well the motorways aren’t going anywhere – so a closure like that at Newton on Friday will always impact on Warrington.

But do cars and lorries need to be directed through the town centre when that happens?

Within five years, the new Mersey Crossing between Runcorn and Widnes will be up and running.

And the worries over how the tolls will affect Warrington remain.

Surely now is the time for the Government to say not just that Warrington people won’t have to pay tolls to use those bridges (for you will be charged on the existing Runcorn Bridge too) but that they will be free for all.

Because the impact on Warrington should charges be introduced appears unthinkable.

And what of future development?

The more we build, the more traffic we have to deal with.

So a housing development on the former Wilderspool Stadium site, further development at Centre Park, huge transformation of Bridge Street and the impending opening of cavernous warehouses on Omega.

These are all good for business and the economy.

But what business or economy can thrive if you cannot get from A to B without giving yourself more than an hour to cross town?

Much to ponder.

But a simple solution like stopping diversions through town and saying no to tolls on the new bridges will help.

ON Thursday night, the Warrington Guardian was named the best weekly newspaper in the north west in the widely recognised O2 media awards.

It is a huge thrill for our team here to have been honoured in such a way.

It is a massive privilege to work for this paper, representing the town and its people.

The Warrington Guardian is in many ways the voice of the town.

We support people who need it, fight battles for those unable to do so themselves and challenge those in power.

We celebrate the town’s successes and reflect on its failings.

And we have done so for 161 years – and will continue to do so for years to come.

So while it is nice to win awards, it is even better to work on a paper, website, Twitter feed, Facebook and Instagram page that is at the heart of Warrington.