M56 eastbound exit slip road at Junction 12 scheduled to re-open on Monday 16 November 2015
Motorists using the M56 in Cheshire are being advised that the eastbound exit slip road at junction 12 for Runcorn is scheduled to re-open next week.
The slip road, which has been closed for five weeks for essential Mersey Gateway improvement works, is expected to open on time on Monday 16 November 2015.
The temporary closure has allowed construction workers to safely develop part of the new infrastructure that will connect the traffic travelling between Halton and the M56 motorway.
This has involved widening the end of the slip road from two to four lanes to resolve historic congestion at this junction (only two lanes will re-open initially until the rest of the road network is ready) and creating a new slip road to the A557 southbound.
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.
Final road surfacing is taking place ahead of the planned opening, however Merseylink is advising that the opening date could be affected by the adverse weather conditions forecast for this weekend.
Hugh O’Connor, General Manager of Merseylink, said: “This temporary closure has allowed us to complete vital road infrastructure work safely, and as quickly as possible. Our teams are working incredibly hard to finish this on time, but if we get a lot of heavy rain this weekend we may be delayed and this could have a knock on effect as to when the slip road can re-open. We’ll be monitoring the situation closely and will be using our social media channels to keep people informed.”
Merseylink and Halton Borough Council worked closely with Highways England, which is responsible for maintaining and operating England’s motorways, to plan the works, keep disruption to a minimum, and put an appropriate diversion in place.
Highways England Project Manager Dave Dickinson said: “We’ve been liaising closely with the bridge team, who have worked hard to get these road works finished on time. We appreciate that the slip road closure at junction 12 may have been inconvenient and we’d like to thank people for their patience while the diversion has been in place.
“There is still a lot of work to be done at this junction, which may mean changes to the road layout from time to time. We’d like to remind drivers to continue to drive safely through roadworks and pay particular attention to traffic signs.”
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.
