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

  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 19, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s
    Read More
  • London’s cycle superhighways get the go ahead
    February 5, 2015
    London’s streets will become more accessible for cyclists now that the Transport for London (TfL) Board has approved plans for the construction of four new cycle superhighways and upgrades to the four existing cycle superhighway routes as part of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision. The schemes, which will cost around US$243 million to deliver between now and the end of 2016, will help treble the number of cycle journeys made over the next ten years and transform London’s streets and spaces to places where cyclis
    Read More
  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 11, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion. Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s to
    Read More
  • Inrix informs FHWA’s data improvements
    December 19, 2017
    Refinements in the data available from the US Federal Highway Administration will improve road management across America. David Crawford reports. In August 2017, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the first results from an upgraded version of its National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). Developed to identify the locations and times of high congestion affecting traffic flows along America’s 259,000km (161,000 mile) national highway system, this is a key resource for sta
    Read More

Highlighted Content