HOPES of dualling Worcester's Carrington Bridge have taken another step forward - with council chiefs putting together a "business case" for it.

In a bid to get the Government to cough up firm cash, Worcestershire County Council has now started putting together a detailed proposal.

The work will pull together details on the likely environmental impact, the design of a dualled A4440 bridge, the financial implications and the planning processes required to make it happen.

It will also firm up the likely benefits for the entire region, both in terms of easing congestion and helping the private sector.

Worcestershire County Council is spending more than £40 million of taxpayers’ cash overhauling the rest of the A4440 Southern Link Road by 2018, but not the connecting bridge due to the huge costs.

Only last month Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin visited Worcester to see it for himself, and in March it was given another boost when council bosses in Herefordshire backed the campaign, saying a dualling is "vital" for both counties.

The business case is expected to take some months to complete, but a new report outlining the details says there are hopes it can be used to tap into Local Growth Fund money, yearly handouts to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

The structure handles 30,000 vehicles a day, and the costs of dualling it are estimated to be an eye-watering £70 million, although the current work aims to firm that up.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, county council deputy leader and cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure, said: "We must all get behind this lobbying effort for phase four (the final stage of the A4440 improvements), it's absolutely vital.

"We've given the authority to our officers to work on this, to look at the design, planning and environmental matters.

"If we're going to get this money for Carrington Bridge it's got to be more than just a Worcestershire project, because we see these benefits as being much wider than this county."

Both LEPs in Herefordshire and Worcestershire back the dualling, and the county council has put £7 million aside to try and get the ball rolling.

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin, meanwhile, who has just been appointed City Minister, has today written to Mr McLoughlin to ask him for further support over it.

She said: "I am grateful to the minister for visiting the county and meeting with me and my colleagues.

"His comments were encouraging but it is now down to the Local Enterprise Partnership to pitch for funding from Central Government.

"I have asked the transport secretary to formally support our campaign so we can take the message back to Government that we all support the LEP’s bid to deliver this crucial road improvement as soon as possible."