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Main contractor Balfour Beatty was due to start work last summer but the job was delayed by funding worries.
Cheshire East Council has given the green light for work to begin with a £53.8m main construction deal signed on the £108m scheme.
Councillor Mark Goldsmith, chair of the council’s highways and transport committee, said: “This is great news for Cheshire East and those who drive through Middlewich. Delivery of the Middlewich Eastern Bypass has been long-awaited – and has overwhelming local support.
“The scheme will be a tremendous boost for Middlewich and the wider Cheshire East economy and is coming about due to the council’s determination to secure funding and deliver this critical infrastructure scheme.
“Now we can look forward to the main construction phase getting under way and the road being completed for everyone’s benefit.”
The 1.6-mile bypass will connect Pochin Way in the north of Middlewich to the A533 Booth Lane in the south, including a new bridge over the Sandbach-Northwich railway line and a new bridge over the Trent and Mersey Canal.
The bypass scheme is due to open to traffic in spring 2028.