Photo, L-R: Ian Jones, Halton Borough Council Head of Highways; Nick Fox, Portfolio Director, Balfour Beatty; Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Mayor; Cllr Mike Wharton, Halton Borough Council Leader; Karen Radman, NEC Project Manager.
Work has begun on a 12-month project to improve the A56 Chester Road at Daresbury for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Halton Borough Council has secured £14.5m of Liverpool City Region funding for the East Runcorn Connectivity scheme, and contractor Balfour Beatty have recently started work on site.
Funding for the project is from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), a pot of £710m set aside for major transport infrastructure projects across the Liverpool City Region.
Several sections of the A56 required reconstruction work to remove underlying materials which have caused ridges in the road, leading to poor ride quality on the approach to Sci-Tech Daresbury. This has been a longstanding issue and until now sufficient funding wasn’t available to rectify the problem.
This scheme enables the resurfacing of the road from the Daresbury Hotel to Halton’s borough boundary with Warrington.
While this work is being carried out, there is also the opportunity to install a new traffic light junction for the Redrow housing development at Delph Lane, which will also help pedestrians and cyclists cross the busy dual carriageway.
There will also be a new footpath between Delph Lane and Keckwick Lane to help link Daresbury village and its facilities with the new housing estate and beyond.
Mike Wharton, Halton Borough Council Leader, says: “We are delighted to have secured this funding from the Liverpool City Region for much-needed improvements to this busy section of road for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.
“As well as improving the journey into Sci-Tech Daresbury, the scheme will provide a vital, safe connection between the new housing development and Daresbury village.
“The East Runcorn Connectivity scheme as a whole is providing safer, better connected routes which will hopefully encourage residents to make healthier, more sustainable travel choices.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Since I was first elected Mayor, we’ve invested more than £100m to upgrade walking and cycling routes in our region, linking entire communities up to areas and opportunities that were previously out of reach.
“This scheme in East Runcorn will create new, green transport connections across the area, joining up new and existing developments such as Sci-Tech Daresbury and the new Daresbury Garden Village.
“It is a key part of my plan to build a London-style, integrated public transport network that is faster, cheaper, cleaner, better connected and, crucially, gives people a quality and efficient alternative to driving their car.
“The more people we can encourage people to walk or cycle, particularly for short journeys, the faster we can hit our net zero targets, reduce congestion on our roads and improve the quality of air we breathe.”
Kay Slade, Area Director at Balfour Beatty, said: “We are pleased to be working with Halton Borough Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, to transform the A56 Chester Road for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and the travelling public.
“These essential upgrades will significantly enhance connectivity in the region, benefitting both local residents and businesses, whilst also encouraging more local people to cycle or walk to their destination – in turn, reducing traffic on the road network.”