Kendal Roadworks This Week: A590 Contraflow and Peat Lane

Kendal has two motorway junctions, one river running through the middle of it, and a flood defence scheme that has been rebuilding the riverbanks for years. Most local delays come from one of those three things. This page lists the Kendal roadworks running now and booked in for the next few weeks, and where to check before you set off.

Last checked Saturday 7 November 2026. We reread every temporary traffic order for the south Lakes on the Public Notice Portal (the newest are the council’s notices of 5 November), National Highways’ north west schedule and its M6 Lune Gorge page (newest update 4 November), and the council’s news page.

The short version:

• A590 Stakes Moss to Witherslack: the westbound side is shut and all traffic runs on a 24-hour contraflow on the eastbound side until 27 November. The overnight full closures ended on 6 November.
• Peat Lane, Kendal, and Chapel Field, Burneside: closed under the order the council made on 29 October. It started on 2 November and is expected to be needed for about a month.
• Anchorite Road, Kendal: closed to vehicles for about three weeks from Saturday 31 October, with an estimated end of 21 November. Made.
• M6 near Tebay, weekend of 27 to 29 November: southbound down to a single lane between Roundthwaite and Borrowbeck for drainage work.
• 20mph across Kendal: the council made the order for the town’s 20mph scheme on 3 November. It covers most of the town’s streets and takes effect when the signs go up. Which roads it covers.
• Nether Bridge: the council’s five-day maximum for the vehicle closure ran out on Friday 16 October, and it had still published no reopening notice on 7 November. The southern footway stays shut for several weeks.

Burneside Road: the five weeks are up

The council made an order closing Burneside Road in Burneside to all traffic for utility works. That means vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. It came into operation on Monday 28 September, and the council expected to need it for about five weeks, which ran out around 1 November. At 7 November the council had published no notice saying the road has reopened, and the order can legally stay in force for longer, so check the signs if you use it.

• The closed length is about 370 metres, starting about 60 metres south east of the Carlingdale junction.
• The signed route for all traffic runs via the open parts of Burneside Road, Windermere Road (A5284), the A591 and Hollins Lane.
• As with every order of this kind, it applies only when the signs are out.
• The reference is TTROW/20139.

This is the road between Kendal and Burneside, so while it is shut anyone who walks, cycles or drives between the two needs the A591.

Source: the made order of 24 September.

Nether Bridge: the five days are up, the footway stays shut

Nether Bridge closed to all vehicles on Monday 12 October, for a maximum of five days, on the council’s published plan. That maximum ran out on Friday 16 October. A 10-metre section of the southern parapet wall, demolished in a traffic incident in June, was being rebuilt.

The council had not published a notice saying the road had reopened when we checked on 7 November. Its announcement still gives only the original five-day plan. If the bridge is still coned off when you get there, the signed diversion is via Romney Bridge and Milnthorpe Road.

• The southern footway stays closed for several weeks after the road reopens, because covers have to protect the lime mortar while it cures before winter.
• Walkers and cyclists keep the northern footway.
• HGVs are kept off Parkside Road because of the 13ft 3in height restriction at the railway bridge.

Source: the council’s announcement of 9 September. No statutory traffic order for Nether Bridge has appeared on the Public Notice Portal. We set out why the repair takes this shape in our report on the Nether Bridge closure.

The M6 at Lune Gorge: a single lane south on 27 to 29 November

National Highways is repairing worn surfacing and damaged expansion joints on the Lune Gorge stretch, where it says temporary repairs have been made before and “a more durable solution is now required”. The overnight closures of the junction 38 southbound entry slip at Tebay ended on 6 November.

Next on its list:

• M6 southbound, Roundthwaite to Borrowbeck, 6pm Friday 27 November to 12pm Sunday 29 November. One lane only, for drainage work. The northbound side stays fully open.
• B6257 under Highgill Bridge, 16 November to 11 December. Temporary overnight traffic lights while a new haul road is built. The page gives the hours as “8am - 5am”, which reads like a misprint for 8pm; we have not been able to confirm which.
• The public footpath on the south side of Tebay bridge stays closed until Friday 18 December. National Highways extended the closure on 4 November. It covers about 350 metres of footpath from the east side of the pedestrian bridge, so operatives can work at height safely.

Source: National Highways’ M6 Lune Gorge structures page, updates of 16 October and 4 November. The same page says a seven-week public consultation on the options for the Lune Gorge bridges is planned to start in February 2027.

The A590 at Meathop: a new plan, to 5 December

National Highways has rewritten the schedule for the A590 resurfacing between Stakes Moss and Witherslack. The scheme now runs 12 October to 5 December 2026, in five phases:

Dates	What happens
3 to 6 November	Full overnight closure, 9pm to 6am, diverted via the A592 and A591 (finished)
6 to 27 November	Westbound carriageway closed; a 24-hour contraflow carries all traffic on the eastbound side
28 November to 5 December	Lane closures on the dual carriageway

The four nights of full closure are over. The contraflow keeps the road open in both directions, but on one carriageway, so expect slower traffic towards Grange, Cartmel and Barrow until 27 November. Emergency services access is maintained.

Source: National Highways’ north west maintenance schemes.

The two A590 jobs that ran alongside it have finished on their published dates: the overnight closures at Ulverston, which ended on 6 November, and the two-hour closure near Witherslack for power line work on the evening of 4 November.

Aynam Road is 20mph, and stays that way for nine months

The council made a temporary 20mph order for Aynam Road on 17 September. It came into operation on Monday 21 September and is anticipated to be required for nine months, into the summer of 2027.

• It runs from the Bridge Street junction for about 730 metres.
• The reason given is flood defence works on the Kendal Flood Risk Management Scheme.
• The order can legally run for eighteen months. Nine months is the council’s expectation, not a limit.
• Reference TTROW/21002.

Aynam Road carries the A65 along the east bank of the Kent into the one-way system, so this adds time to every trip into Kendal from the south. Source: the made order of 17 September.

The M6 barrier scheme runs to 11 December

National Highways is replacing the central reservation barrier on the M6 near Burton-in-Kendal, starting at Borwick Lane overbridge. The scheme runs to Friday 11 December 2026. Junction 36 is Kendal’s junction.

For the whole scheme there is a lane 3 closure in both directions and a 40mph limit. That is the part Kendal drivers meet every day.

The overnight phases are behind us. The last listed was the junction 36 northbound exit slip road, shut overnight on 2 November. National Highways lists no further full closures for the scheme. Source: National Highways’ north west maintenance schemes.

When the M6 shuts near Kendal, the A6 through the town becomes the alternative.

Next week and the week after in Kendal

All of these are made orders unless marked otherwise.

• Kirkbarrow, since Saturday 24 October, about 15 days, so due to end around now. Made. Closed to vehicles for 95 metres north of Glebe Road, for utility works. Pedestrians and dismounted cyclists keep a way through. The signed diversion is long for a 95-metre closure: Glebe Road, the A6, Vicarage Drive, Stainbank Road, Underwood, Brigsteer Road, Bankfield Road, Gillingate and Anchorite Fields. Ref TTROW/20785, made 22 October.
• Kirkbarrow and Glebe Road, since Saturday 24 October, about 9 days. Made. A second order closes the whole of Kirkbarrow from Glebe Road to Anchorite Road, with the way round via Anchorite Road, and 70 metres of Glebe Road starting about 40 metres from Milnthorpe Road (A6). The diversion for the Glebe Road section runs via Anchorite Fields, Gillinggate, Bankfield Road, Brigsteer Road, Underwood, Stainbank Road, Vicarage Drive and the A6. Ref TTROW/20786, made 22 October. The nine-day order ran out around 2 November and the 15-day one around 7 November. The council has published no notice saying either is finished, so check the signs.
• Anchorite Road, from Saturday 31 October, about 3 weeks. Made. Closed to vehicles for 75 metres west of Anchorite Fields, for utility works, which puts it straight after the Kirkbarrow works in the same corner of the town. Walkers and dismounted cyclists keep a way through. The signed route is Echo Barn Hill, Greengate Lane and Anchorite Fields. The portal gives an estimated end of 21 November. Ref TTROW/20787, made 29 October.
• Peat Lane, Kendal, and Chapel Field, Burneside, from 2 November. Made. The council made its third south Lakeland highway works order of the year on 29 October. It comes into operation on Monday 2 November and is expected to be needed for about a month, only while signs are out. It closes 560 metres of Peat Lane from Sandylands Road, with the way round via Sandylands Road, the A684 Sedbergh Road, Sedbergh Drive and Ullswater Road. It also closes the whole of Chapel Field in Burneside, where the council says there is no alternative route for vehicles. The order gives no individual dates for either road. Refs TTROW/20650 and TTROW/20652, made 29 October.

Finished on their published durations: the A590 full overnight closures at Meathop on 6 November, the M6 junction 38 southbound slip closures at Tebay on 6 November, the A590 overnight closures at Ulverston on 6 November, the overnight A590 traffic lights at Witherslack on 31 October, the M6 northbound junctions 36 to 39 overnight closure listed for 27 to 28 October, the Captain French Lane parking restrictions, estimated to end on 24 October, the closure of footpath 536026 for VolkerStevin’s ground surveys on 19 October, the Parkside Road bridge closure on 4 October, the Calder Drive closure from 5 October, and the one-day C5071 Natland closure south of St Marks Fold on 13 October.

Powson Bridge is shut until about early November

The C5069 crosses the M6 on Powson Bridge, just north of junction 37 near Lambrigg. The parapets are being replaced and the bridge has been shut to vehicles since 1 September.

• Closed for 25 metres either side of the bridge. Pedestrians and dismounted cyclists keep a way across.
• Diversion via the C5070, C5068 Docker Lane, C5069 Kinn Road, the A684 and C5069 Old Scotch Road.
• The council expects to need the order for about 9 weeks, which points to early November. Reference TTROW/19935.

In August National Highways gave an end date of 18 December. That date has not reappeared on its schedule, which on 3 October still made no mention of Powson. Source: the council’s made order of 27 August.

Hayclose Lane is on temporary speed limits to mid December

The council’s order of 24 August imposes temporary speed limits on Hayclose Lane for utility works, for about 16 weeks:

• 40mph for about 400 metres south west of the A684 junction.
• 40mph for about 400 metres north of the Oxenholme Road (B6254) junction.
• 30mph on the 615 metres in between.

Reference TTROW/19960, in the made order.

The A591 and Barbon closures have run their course

The South Lakeland Temporary Prohibition of All Traffic (No. 2) Order 2026 shut ten roads as and when signs were out, including five stretches of the A591, the A683 at Barbon and Church Street in Beetham. It came into operation on 14 September for about one month, so on the council’s own expectation it ended around 14 October. We found no new order reviving it. Source: the made order of 10 September.

Around the south Lakes in the next three weeks

Orders the council has already made. These are decisions:

• B5343 Chapel Stile, no waiting or loading. On both sides for 125 metres west of Thrang Brow, because of the dangerous condition of a retaining structure. Ref TTROW/21022, advertised 1 October.
• C5040 Park View, Cartmel, from 12 October, about 8 weeks. 255 metres closed to all traffic from the U5176. Diversion via Greenbank Lane, Aynsome Lane and the C5041. Ref TTROW/20423, advertised 24 September.
• C5028 Near and Far Sawrey, from 7 December, about 2 weeks. 90 metres. Ref TTROW/20562, made 8 October.

• Limethwaite Road, Windermere, from Monday 2 November, about 3 weeks. Made. 60 metres west of Lane Head, with the way round via Park Road, Woodland Road, Oak Street, Mylnegarth Gardens and Droomer Drive. Ref TTROW/20764, in the Kirkbarrow order made 22 October.

• A685 Longtail Brow, Grayrigg, from Monday 2 November, about 3 days. Made. 390 metres, starting 400 metres west of the C5065. The way round is the A683, A684, U856 and the rest of the A685. Ref TTROW/20780.

• A683 Crosshaw Brow near Sedbergh, from Monday 23 November, about 3 days. Made. 935 metres from Hebblethwaite Lane, with the way round via the A685, U856 and A684. Ref TTROW/20781. Both are in the highway works order made 29 October, with Peat Lane, Chapel Field and three short closures at Grange-over-Sands and Swarthmoor.

• C5046 Lindale, from Monday 23 November, about 3 days. Proposed. The council intends to make an order closing 70 metres of the C5046 north west from Back Road to all traffic, including walkers and cyclists, for utility works. The signed way round is the rest of the C5046, Back O’ The Fell Road and Smithy Hill. Ref TTROW/20997, notice of 5 November.

• Sun Hill, Troutbeck Bridge, from Thursday 5 November, about 5 days. Made. 55 metres from the A591 Ambleside Road, with the way round via Patterdale Road (A592) and the A591. Walkers and dismounted cyclists keep a way through. Estimated end 9 November. Ref TTROW/20734, made 29 October.

Finished on their published durations since our last check: the B5285 at Near and Far Sawrey (estimated end 1 November), the two-day closure of Back Street and Main Street in Staveley from 1 November, the one-day closure of Fallbarrow Road and Low Fold in Bowness on 2 November, the one-day parking ban on Ellerthwaite Square in Windermere, the C5059 at Crook on 28 and 29 October, Sunny Bank in Windermere from 26 October, the second phase of the Langdale works on the U5527 Little Langdale and U5003, which began on 13 October for about two weeks, the one-day closures of The Green and Nook Lane in Ambleside on 20 October, the U5475 at Sedbergh on 19 and 20 October and the C5098 at Hale on 23 October, the B6254 at Kearswick, the one-day closures at School Hill, Lindale and Cheapside, Ambleside on 15 October, Easedale Road in Grasmere, and the Abbey Bridge closure of Station Road, Staveley.

On the trunk roads:

• A590 Stakes Moss to Witherslack, to 5 December, with the contraflow to 27 November, set out above.
• M6 southbound, Roundthwaite to Borrowbeck, 27 to 29 November. Single lane, set out above.
• M6 junctions 35 to 36, to 11 December. Lane 3 closed both ways and 40mph.
• B6257 under Highgill Bridge, 16 November to 11 December. Overnight temporary traffic lights for the Lune Gorge haul road, set out above.

Gone from this page since the last check, all finished on their published durations: the A593 at Coniston on 11 October, Oxen Park, and the A66 eastbound contraflow between Brough and North Stainmore, which ended on 23 October. We found no new order reviving either.

Sedbergh’s A684. The BBC reported on 7 October that the next phase of the council’s A684 repair scheme east of Sedbergh has been scheduled. We could not confirm it from the council: its A684 project page now redirects to a page about potholes, the Public Notice Portal carries only a two-day utility closure on the U5475 at Sedbergh from 19 October, and Garsdale Parish Council’s last update on the scheme is from July. The council’s June notice planned a fourth phase from 1 October for about three weeks. Treat the A684 towards Garsdale as liable to closure until the council publishes the phase dates.

Queries on council roadworks go to the Highways Hotline on 0300 373 3300 or 0300 373 3306.

Trains. On 28 October, Northern’s check before you travel page named no planned work in October or November on the Windermere branch, through Oxenholme or at Lancaster. On the coast line, the railway between Corkickle and Whitehaven is closed “until further notice” for emergency work at Bransty Tunnel, with replacement buses, which affects Barrow to Carlisle journeys. From Sunday 6 December, Windermere and Barrow trains to Manchester Airport will terminate at Manchester Oxford Road while Heald Green to the Airport is closed. Network Rail has not yet published its Christmas and New Year programme for the West Coast Main Line. Check with Avanti West Coast for the main line before you travel.

The flood scheme, and what it closes

The Kendal Flood Risk Management Scheme is the reason for most riverside disruption in the town. It is an Environment Agency project delivered by the contractor VBA, and it exists because Storm Desmond in December 2015 hit 2,276 properties in Kendal, either by flooding them directly or by cutting them off when infrastructure failed.

Phase 1 built 6km of linear flood defences along the Rivers Kent and Mint, using walls, embankments and 14 flood gates, plus a pumping station at Gooseholme where Stock Beck meets the Kent. VolkerStevin, one of the joint venture partners, puts the completed protection at 1,480 homes, 82 community facilities and 1,150 businesses.

For getting about, the practical points are these:

• All road bridges over the Kent stay open throughout construction, under the traffic management plan agreed with the council. Only one road closure, at Waterside, was planned as a full closure.
• Riverside footpaths close in sections while work moves along each reach, with signed diversions. If you walk the river into town, check before you set off rather than at the barrier.
• Berners Close car park has limited availability because of construction work, according to the council’s own car park listing.

The scheme has also added new and improved walking and cycling routes along the river, and restored land at Beezon Fields and Mintsfeet, so some of what looks like disruption is a path that is about to get better.

Key routes, and when they bite

• M6 junctions 36 and 37 are Kendal’s motorway access. The council’s own flood scheme documents make the point plainly: Kendal’s closeness to the M6 makes the town and the A6 a critical diversion route when the motorway closes northbound or southbound, and the M6 from junction 36 upwards is affected fairly regularly through the winter. A closure on the M6 becomes a Kendal town-centre problem within the hour.
• A591 to Windermere and Ambleside is the tourist artery. In school holidays and on fine summer weekends it queues, particularly on the approach to Windermere.
• A590 to the south west is single carriageway for much of its length, which is why National Highways works on it overnight and with convoys rather than closing it.
• A6 north to Shap is the high route and the first to suffer in snow and ice.
• A684 east to Sedbergh and A685 to Tebay are the Dales-side roads, both narrow in places. The A685 also carries the diversion for the Paddy Lane closure at Meal Bank.

Parking in Kendal

The busiest car park in town is being relined. The council scheduled the work to start on Monday 28 September at the Westmorland Shopping Centre car park, widening bays from 2.4 metres to 2.6 metres, and to more than 3 metres between some of the structural pillars. The work is done floor by floor, with temporary closures only on the level being worked on, and the council says the total number of spaces will fall. A wider review of parking across Kendal is planned this year. Source: the council’s announcement of 9 September, and our report on the wider bays.

Council car parks in the town are chargeable 8am to 6pm as standard, with Broad Street and Braithwaite Fold running to 8pm. All are open 24 hours. Each has its own Pay by Phone code: Blackhall Road is 9860, Broad Street 9865 and 9879, Brewery Street 9927, Beetham Road 9924, Buxton Place 9928, Berners Close 9866 and Bluebell Lane 805796. The Brewery Arts car park applies overnight charges.

For a comparison point on price, take the small pay and display car park at Abbot Hall on the riverside, run by Cumbria Parking Services. Its tariff is:

• up to 1 hour: £2.00
• up to 2 hours: £3.30
• up to 3 hours: £4.60
• up to 4 hours: £5.40
• to the end of the day: £7.50

If you are catching a train, the parking situation is lopsided. Kendal station has four free spaces. Oxenholme has 145 spaces at £12.50 a day, or £5.50 at weekends. Details of both are on our trains to London page.

Where to check before you travel

• One.network is the map Westmorland and Furness Council uses to publish roadworks. You can search by town, street or postcode and look up to twelve months ahead.
• National Highways publishes the M6, A590, A66 and A595 schemes, which the council map does not always carry.
• The Public Notice Portal carries the statutory temporary traffic regulation orders. This is where the closures above are legally advertised, and it is the only place the diversion routes are published in full.
• The council’s flood scheme page for riverside works.

More Kendal local information: house prices, trains to London, planning news and things to do in Kendal.