THOUSANDS of lorry movements could push local roads to breaking point when the construction of a multi-billion pound pylon project begins.
Barrow councillors are concerned an over-reliance on the A590 and A595 to deliver the North West Coast Connections project needs urgent reconsideration.
A report by the council has estimated that almost 125,000 HGV movements would take place during the construction of a tunnel carrying electric cables underneath Morecambe Bay from Roosecote to Lancaster.
A 'movement' has been defined as a single HGV travelling to and from a project construction site.
Councillor Brendan Sweeney said: "National Grid has to look at a multi-modal use of rail in preference to road, and use sea transport where appropriate."
The council's report said sections of the A5087 - the coast road - in Barrow and the A595 "are considered inappropriate to carry construction traffic to and from project construction sites".
At a meeting of the council's executive committee on Wednesday, councillors agreed that residents would suffer if the roads were favoured over other transport options.
The report estimated the impact on local roads by HGV usage varied from 37 weeks on the A595 to 302 weeks on the A590.
Cllr Sweeney says National Grid should consider using the existing rail links around the Salthouse Mills area of Barrow, or constructing a spur line from Roose to the tunnel head.
Jeanette Unsworth, spokesman for National Grid, said: "We are still consulting on our project, until 5pm on Friday, and would urge people to let us have their views if they haven't done so already. To date we've had around 3,000 responses.
"Barrow Borough Council is aware of the mechanism for providing feedback to us on the issue of transportation and we will carefully consider their input on this aspect of our project. We are still exploring all options for moving manpower and materials during the construction process."
The council has indicated it will push as hard as possible to make sure the impact on residents is minimised.
Cllr Sweeney said: "We know there is work being done by National Grid's transport team on this but what we need is a commitment from senior management to use rail."
Related content:
Council bosses hit out over the "inadequate" consultation for the pylon project
Letter: One local resident has their say on the pylon scheme
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