Major road projects to improve journeys in Merseyside and Cheshire

Two major new road schemes worth more than US$388 million (£300 million) are set to cut congestion and improve journey times for hundreds of thousands of drivers in Merseyside and Cheshire, UK. Highways England has set out its preferred options for upgrading the key route to the Port of Liverpool and creating a new junction on the M56 near Runcorn following public consultations earlier this year.
September 1, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

 Two major new road schemes worth more than US$388 million (£300 million) are set to cut congestion and improve journey times for hundreds of thousands of drivers in Merseyside and Cheshire, UK.

8101 Highways England has set out its preferred options for upgrading the key route to the Port of Liverpool and creating a new junction on the M56 near Runcorn following public consultations earlier this year.

A new three-mile dual carriageway between the motorway network and the port will take freight away from residential areas on the A5036, which has been identified as being the tenth most congested road in England. The bypass will serve the existing port as well as the deep-water container terminal, which is expected to triple the port’s volume of goods by 2030.

The new junction 11a on the M56 will provide a new link to the Mersey Gateway bridge between Runcorn and Widnes and improve local access to the motorway, while the new junction on the M56 will take traffic away from residential areas as well as providing a new route to the Mersey Gateway bridge – an important new link between Cheshire and Merseyside.

A new roundabout, controlled by traffic lights, will also be built at the junction connecting Broom’s Cross Road, Brickwall Lane and the new bypass. Broom’s Cross Road will also be upgraded to a dual carriageway from the new roundabout to Switch Island, where the A5036 connects with the M57 and M58.

Detailed designs for both major road projects will now be developed, with construction work due to start by spring 2020.

Funding for the schemes is being provided as part of the government’s £15 billion Road Investment Strategy (RIS), and will help boost the Northern Powerhouse by improving transport connectivity and reliability to help the economy of the North.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Reducing congestion with Tomtom's historical traffic data
    December 5, 2012
    Historical traffic data provided by TomTom is being used by the local government in Spain’s Basque region to reduce road congestion at less cost. Old habits die hard. Photos from as far back as the 1930s show people counting cars by the roadside in order to provide congestion data to those running road networks. Today, such techniques are still used, albeit augmented by a range of automation technologies such as inductive loops, infra-red sensors and number plate recognition. Even with these advances, howe
    Read More
  • Highways England awards latest asset delivery contract
    March 23, 2017
    Highways England has awarded a new-style asset delivery contract, valued at US$337 million (£270 million), which is intended to improve journeys for drivers across the south-west. The new contract has been awarded to Ringway Infrastructure Services as part of the Government’s major investment to improve and maintain the country’s motorways and major A roads. Highways England will now take direct responsibility for managing both routine maintenance and the delivery of capital renewal and improvement
    Read More
  • Uganda toll road secures funding
    February 27, 2017
    The European Union, International Finance Corporation, France’s AFD and African Development Bank have committed to funding of up to US$400 million for the US$1.1-billion project to construct the 77-kilometre tolled highway in Uganda, according to Engineering News-Record. The private sector will provide an additional US$300 million. The road will link the capital Kampala to the industrial eastern city of Jinja and is designed to speed up freight flow to landlocked Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of Co
    Read More
  • Plans unveiled for one of London’s busiest corners
    February 8, 2016
    New plans to improve safety and transform one of the busiest parts of London have been published by Transport for London (TfL) and Islington Council. A consultation is now underway on plans for Highbury Corner, which would see the western side of the roundabout completely removed and replaced by a major new public space. Removing the western side of the roundabout would allow a two-way traffic system to be introduced with improved pedestrian crossings. It would also allow new segregated lanes for cyclis
    Read More

Highlighted Content