Cash boost for Switch Island link road plan

Sep 16 2008 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

Traffic at Switch Island on the A5036 _320

TWO MAJOR transport schemes costing £91.8m were given the go-ahead this morning.

The funding package for a new link road between Switch Island and the A565 at Thornton, in Sefton, and crucial work to upgrade the Bidston Moss Viaduct, in Wirral, was announced by Transport Minister Rosie Winterton.

Ms Winterton said: "This new investment underlines the Government’s commitment to delivering major improvements in the North West."

The Bidston Moss Viaduct connects the M53 and local roads in Wirral to the Kingsway Tunnel to Liverpool city centre.

The £76m of structural repairs to the viaduct will mean the current 3.5 tonne weight limit - which restricts vehicles using the outside lane of the central structure - will be lifted. It is hoped the 38-year-old fly-over will then be able to carry around 63,000 vehicles a day, including almost 5,000 lorries.

Design work will start at the beginning of 2009 and the strengthening work is expected to begin in summer 2010 and finish mid-2012.

The work will be delivered by a partnership of local authorities, the Highways Agency and Department for Transport (DfT).

At a press conference at Wallasey Town Hall, Ms Winterton also announced £15.6m of Government funding to build the Switch Island link road.

The DfT hope this will bring "safer and more reliable journeys for road users in Sefton", while relieving residents in Thornton and Netherton by cutting congestion, noise and pollution created by rat-running through the villages.

The department says the new road will take "thousands of vehicle a day" away from the villages, the DfT say, and should also be completed in 2012.

Switch Island is major interchange where the M57, M58, A59, A5036 and the A565 to Southport and Crosby meet.

The council has chosen a 4.2km (2.6m) route, running parallel with Northern Perimeter Road from a new roundabout at the A565 to a major signal-controlled junction at Switch Island.

Once built, measures to stop cars using residential roads will be put in place, including lower speed limits, cameras, traffic islands and mini-roundabouts.

The plan was resurrected in 2006, ten years after a previous scheme to take traffic away from Netherton and Thornton was shelved by the Government.

The Bidston Moss scheme was jointly developed by Wirral Council, Merseytravel and the Highways Agency.

The next step will be for the Highways Agency and authorities to appoint a contractor to design and carry out the strengthening works.

Cllr Mark Dowd, chair of Merseytravel, said: "The value of the Mersey Tunnels for this region’s economy shouldn’t be underestimated. We are pleased to have been part of bringing this scheme to fruition.

"We want to see these improvements in place as quickly as possible and now the hard work starts."