A £650,000 refurbishment of Oldham’s King Street pedestrian and cycle bridge has been announce alongside the £200,000 revamp of Union Street West bridge.

They are included as one of 15 projects to form part of Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking network which have been put forward for funding.

If approved it will see around £25 million streamed from the mayor Andy Burnham’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund and a further £4 million funded by Greater Manchester’s district councils and the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Grant.

All 10 Greater Manchester local authorities stand to benefit from at least one scheme with work beginning by the end of the year.

The proposed projects will deliver 60 new and upgraded crossings and junctions as well as 15 miles of new cycling and walking routes. This includes six miles of Dutch-style cycle lanes that are separated from motor traffic.

Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking commissioner, Chris Boardman, said: “We asked Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities to hit the ground running and they’ve been able to turn these first proposed projects around very quickly. This is a real achievement in itself and will help us to keep up momentum on transforming the city-region into a better place to be.

“The list of proposed projects announced today is the first of many for each local authority and we hope to publish the next list in the coming weeks. One thing we won’t compromise on is quality; we’re working closely with all 10 local authorities to ensure that every single project on this list meets a tough set of design standards. Only by doing this will we enable thousands more people to consider making more trips on foot or by bike.”

Mr Burnham, said: “The network will connect every community in Greater Manchester, opening up our neighbourhoods and making it far easier to travel on foot or by bike to school, to the shops, to work.

“It is hugely exciting to see the first of many schemes coming through and the impact will be truly transformational.”