Skip to main content

Highways England announces funding to improve major motorway junction

Highways England has announced plans to invest total of US$3.7 million (£3 million) for major improvements to Switch Island in Merseyside, one of the north-west’s busiest motorway junctions where the M57, M58 and three A roads connect. Construction work at the junction, which is used by over 90,000 vehicles every day, is expected to start next year. The scheme is designed to improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety, following 49 collisions at the junction in the past two years. New traffic light
April 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
8101 Highways England has announced plans to invest total of US$3.7 million (£3 million) for major improvements to Switch Island in Merseyside, one of the north-west’s busiest motorway junctions where the M57, M58 and three A roads connect.

Construction work at the junction, which is used by over 90,000 vehicles every day, is expected to start next year. The scheme is designed to improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety, following 49 collisions at the junction in the past two years.

New traffic lights will be installed at a height of over 5 metres – higher than HGVs and double-decker buses – so that drivers approaching the junction can clearly see when the lights are changing.
 
Other improvements will include changes to the road layout and lane markings, new barriers between carriageways, coloured high friction surfaces and better signs.

The scheme is being funded by the government’s US$274 million (£220 million) congestion relief programme, which was announced by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling last month.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Debating the future development of ANPR
    July 31, 2012
    What future is there for automatic number plate recognition? Will it be supplanted by electronic vehicle identification, or will continuing development maintain the technology's relevance? In recent years, digitisation and IP-based communication networks have allowed Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to achieve ever-greater utility and a commensurate increase in deployments. But where does the technology go next - indeed, does it have a future in the face of the increasing use of, for instance, Dedi
  • Countering truckers’ parking conundrum
    May 3, 2017
    Colin Sowman hears about a new truck parking information system being piloted across eight states. Legislation limits truck drivers’ hours with the result that they are often caught in a situation where they need to stop either for a break or an overnight rest. But as truck parking is in short supply, truck drivers spend an average of 56 minutes a day searching for available spaces and are often faced with the choice of driving beyond their permitted hours or parking illegally.
  • Robotic Research: harnessing AV potential
    June 10, 2021
    Robotic Research is leading in AV R&D, from work with the US Army to enabling the first automated BRT line in North America: Gordon Feller assesses what the company is doing
  • Secretary Foxx calls for Congress to pass transportation bill
    May 23, 2014
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined state and local officials for a tour of the Tampa Interstate Study (TIS), a US$1.8 billion series of significant highway improvements in the region. Planning for the TIS, which relies on US$941 million in federal funding, began in 1989. The current phase of construction is expected to be completed in September of 2016. "These badly needed improvements to the major routes through Tampa and Ybor City will greatly improve the area's ability to keep pace with t