THE SOUTHERN BYPASS Driving between the west of Carlisle and the south east of the city has long been a drawn-out affair, involving a detour through the city centre or a convoluted route via Dalston. The Carlisle Southern Link Road (CSLR) will end that. CSLR fills the missing piece of ring road around Carlisle, which began with the M6 to the east and continued in 2012 with the Northern Development Route (western bypass). The CSLR – likely to be widely known as the southern bypass – will skirt the south of the city, connecting Junction 42 of the M6 with Wigton Road. Cumbria County Council has launched the process to find a contractor to design and build the five-mile road. The intention is to award the contract next January with the work starting in 2022 and completed by March 31, 2024.