Hurrah. At last a piece of good news.Well I live in hopes it's good news.

And what is it, you may ask, that has got me so excited?

Well, so-called 'enabling work' has started that will pave the way for the Centre Park link road.

For those of you who aren't aware of the £19.8 million project, Warrington council plans to build a new bridge over the Mersey where the old Furness Rigby car sales plot used to be on Chester Road, close to the Gainsborough Road junction.

The bridge will then join on to an extended Slutchers Lane where the Drive Time golf range used to be and finally emerge on Wilson Patten Street, close to Bank Quay station.

It will also see new traffic signals on Chester Road and Wilson Patten Street, along with traffic calming measures presumably to stop Gainsborough Road becoming a rat-run to Stockton Heath once the new road opens.

If everything goes to plan, the scheme is due to be completed in late 2020 and we can all hope the new road will go some way to easing town centre congestion with through-traffic able to bypass Bridge Foot.

And for that we should all be grateful.

There's no doubt the town is crying out for something – anything – that helps ease traffic flow and as someone who regularly gets stuck in Bridge Foot traffic, theoretically I'm all in favour of the Centre Park link.

And it appears I'm not alone.

Cllr Bob Barr, leader of the town’s Liberal Democrats, said: “Congestion, and its associated problems of wasted time and the health effects of air pollution, has been a persistent problem since before the days of the New Town. The only solutions are to persuade more travellers to stop using their cars, or to modify the road network to alleviate the worst traffic pinch points.

“The Centre Park link scheme will help.

“Such projects are always controversial but they are essential to make Warrington a more liveable town.”

And Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid added: “I am routinely contacted by constituents who are frankly fed up with the volume of traffic congestion on our roads.

“My constituents tell me they want to see action taken to tackle the traffic misery.

“The Centre Park link will provide a much-needed additional crossing over the Mersey, connecting Chester Road to the town centre.

“While there is no single solution to the town’s problems with chronic traffic congestion, I hope that this investment in our road infrastructure will relieve pressure on a number of our town centre’s traffic hotspots and, in doing so, help improve the lives of those who find themselves regularly stuck in the traffic.”

Fine words from Cllr Barr and Mr Rashid, but I think there a sting in the tail of this particular story (this is Warrington after all so we shouldn't expect anything less).

One of the effects of the Centre Park link will be to open up land for housing close to the town centre.

Apparently, there are plans to build around 465 homes as a direct result of the new road.

Now I'm no town planner but I am someone who drives daily on the town's roads. We have traffic problems now and I really don't see how adding another 465 houses will help in any shape or form.

Looks like one step forward and two steps back to me. Perhaps Cllr Barr and Mr Rashid are being a little too optimistic.

I was out and about on Friday night and was interested to see the police's town centre beat team in action, all close up and personal.

I was particularly taken with the sight of the team's drugs dog doing its thing.

I found the whole thing particularly reassuring. I wouldn't want to spend my Friday night working, trudging round from pub to club but I'm glad they did.