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

  • Mott MacDonald Grontmij JV wins Highways Agency’s framework contract
    November 20, 2014
    The Mott MacDonald Grontmij joint venture (MMG JV) is to provide professional engineering design services to support strategic investment in England’s road network. The JV has been appointed on Lot 1 of the Highways Agency’s new US$7.8 billion Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF), the country’s largest ever framework for the improvement of motorways and major A roads. The Highways Agency’s CDF is Collaborative working practices and knowledge sharing between designers, the Highways Agency, delivery part
    Read More
  • USDOT finances Ohio River Bridges East End Crossing
    April 17, 2015
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan of US$162 million from the Department's Federal Highway Administration to finance the East End Crossing section of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. At the total cost of US$1.27 billion, the East End Crossing includes the East End Bridge and its connecting roadways. The bridge spans the Ohio River eight miles to the north connecting the east end of Louis
    Read More
  • Europe spends €112 billion per year on fossil fuels despite Phase-out plans
    September 29, 2017
    The European Governments and EU are subsidising €112 billion each year for the production and consumption of fossil fuels, claims a new report from the Overseas Development Institute and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe – violating the Paris Agreement’s phase-out plan 2020. The report, Phase-Out 2020: Monitoring Europe’s fossil fuel subsidies (PH20202) gathered the information from 11 European countries between 2014 – 2016.
    Read More
  • Five companies shortlisted for Roads of the Future project
    May 29, 2018
    Five companies will present ideas ranging from smart traffic lights to segregated driverless zones in a competition to make UK roads fit or driverless cars. The candidates will receive £30,000 to test ideas, with £50,000 prize available to the winner this autumn. The National Infrastructure Commission shortlisted the companies from 81 entries submitted to The Roads for the Future initiative – led by Highways England and Innovate UK. Aecom is examining how smart signals could advise drivers and vehicles
    Read More

Highlighted Content