MAYBE we are about to enter a golden age where Warringtonians finally get where they need to be in life.

And I'm not referring to the various invitations floating around the town's great and good for drinkies and dips at Number Ten with David Cameron later in the year.

Instead the focus is on bridges, whether they cross the Mersey or Ship Canal, and the benefits they can bring to this gridlocked town.

David Mowat has given a government minister a guided tour of the problem and mention has been made of Whitehall funding, in tandem with an unquantified amount of local investment.

All very encouraging and highly intriguing, especially as this column hinted at the selfsame prospect several months ago.

But this hack came from good soil and - without David Skentelbery's useful little cuttings library to avail myself of - I went to the next best thing.

For once the Guardian archive was my friend and the earliest reference to this particular link road in modern times was back in 1997.

In those heady early Blair days, the prospect of a route across Crosfields-owned land was being talked of in excited tones, with familiar language about connecting Chester Road and Sankey Way and bypassing Bridge Foot.

Those with longer memories will also recall the scheme which was mentioned in the same breath - Regenesis - which like the '97 link road proposals didn't quite make it to fruition.

Perhaps it's with a little caution that these latest blueprints need to be welcomed, only proving that good ideas come and go, but keep on coming.

Whether Mr Mowat has to field several concerned calls from the residents of Gainsborough Avenue, when they realise the potential implications of where such a bridge may emerge, is anyone's guess.

Residents of 17 years ago were rather rattled by the possible traffic snarl-ups but it remains to be seen how they will feel this time around.

Elsewhere an interesting titbit came my way regarding the long-awaited Warrington West railway station this week.

Supporters recently took a tour of the soon-to-be finished Burnley Manchester Road station, as part of a fact-finding mission on how major rail projects can get off the ground.

But as the Guardian's sister paper, the Lancashire Telegraph, has pointed out, that station has been near-completion for more than three months.

Baffled passengers have arrived at a relaid car park, checked the newly-installed electronic displays, then wondered why the bright and shiny station building is still surrounded by security fencing. This is all for the want of some energy-efficient lighting, apparently.

Don't get them started on the fast train service to Manchester which was supposed to start last May, but was delayed first by tunnel repairs, then a lack of carriages, before Network Rail confessed the signals weren't in place anyway and it will be next spring before a new service launches.

Just a salutary lesson from East Lancashire to their comrades in the old south of the county concerning any dalliances with our creaking rail infrastructure.

Never assume that local authorities, Network Rail, train operators and the Department of Transport are ever on the same page, or even reading the same book.

* Fresh from Warrington's starring role in The Zoo, it's delightful to hear that camera crews will be heading north of the river, and bringing Michelle Keegan and Max Beesley with them for a new comedy drama.

If we could all now turn the lights off, hide behind Helsby Hill and pretend we're out when Kerry Katona has her next crisis and heads home, our show business rehabilitation might well be complete.

* Last week, after an absence of around a decade, my colleague Jeremy Craddock resumed Guardian columnist duties, and I wished him well.

He knows he's got a tough act to follow after Mrs Priest's departure (did I hear a sigh of relief from Cheshire's Police and Crime Commissoner there?).

But his measured and thoughtful approach will soon find favour. Or infuriate our army of keyboard warriors for no discernible reason, who knows?