Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “This one nation government is determined to close the economic gap between north and south.

“Investing in transport – something that successive governments have failed to do sufficiently – is vital to making that happen.

“Across the north, that investment is already having a huge impact, with programmes underway to upgrade our railways and our roads. We are determined to keep the momentum going.”

The Transport Secretary will visit the Farnworth Tunnel, where major work has started to provide better journeys between Manchester, Bolton and Preston by the end of 2016.

He will then travel to Merseyside, to open the new A5758 Broom’s Cross Road between Thornton and Switch Island.

For details of the Northern Powerhouse transport blueprint click here