PLANS to transform the route of a former railway minerals line into a footpath and cycle way have been given the go-ahead by St Helens Council.
The project will see a 2.7-kilometre path created south from the Dream at Sutton Manor, crossing the border with Widnes.
It will run a further 2.4kilometres through to Mill Lane, Widnes.
It will replace the St Helens to Runcorn Gap Railway, which has been disused since 1982.
Much of the route is said to be an overgrown wilderness, but a narrow strip encompassing the existing line of the former railway, where the tracks would originally have been laid, and the embankments, remains.
Last summer £3.12million was given to St Helens Council, in partnership with Halton and Warrington councils, to improve walking, cycling and bus routes.
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