M56 eastbound exit slip road at Junction 12 re-opens on time
The construction team at Merseylink has beaten this weekend’s bad weather to ensure that junction 12 of the M56 was re-opened on time this week.
Merseylink workers were on site through the weekend, laying almost 1,000 tonnes of material to complete the works and open the slip road ahead of Monday morning’s rush hour.
Hugh O’Connor, General Manager of Merseylink, said: “I’d like to thank our team for working so hard through some very challenging weather conditions to make sure this work was completed safely and on time.”
He added: “Now that the major works are completed at junction 12, we hope that road users will be able to start to see that this project will lead to real improvements to the road network right across Halton. The Mersey Gateway Project is more than just a bridge over the river and this is a great example of the improvements being made to the road infrastructure.”
The slip road had been closed for five weeks to allow construction workers to safely develop part of the new infrastructure that will connect the traffic travelling between Halton and the M56 motorway.
This involved widening the end of the slip road from two to four lanes to resolve historic congestion at this junction and creating a new slip road to the A557 southbound. Only two lanes will re-open initially until the rest of the road network is ready.
Off peak lane closures will continue to be in place at the junction for ongoing construction works and to allow safe site access for the workforce.
Upgrading and remodelling the road infrastructure is a huge part of the Mersey Gateway Project with work taking place right across Halton to develop a new and improved 7km link road that will connect the new bridge to the national motorway network.
The economic, transport and social benefits the project will bring to the region include:
- 470 permanent full-time equivalent jobs on site during construction
- 4,640 permanent direct and indirect jobs
- £61.9 million a year in Gross Value Added from the new jobs by 2030.
When it opens in 2017, both the new bridge and the Silver Jubilee Bridge will be tolled, but they will be free* to Halton residents.
*Residents of Halton will still need to register to use the bridges and there will be a small charge for this.
