A NEW interchange on the M56 in Cheshire to give direct access to the proposed new £450m river crossing is under discussion, following a massive public consultation exercise in Runcorn and Widnes.

It would be built between the existing junctions at Clifton Interchange and Preston Brook following fears that Runcorn’s expressway route would be overwhelmed by extra traffic.

Currently, Halton council want the new high-level bridge to link with the expressway, which in turn leads to the motorway a mile away. The project plan now highlights the possibility for a new junction 11A on the M56 near Preston Brook.

The Mersey Gateway project team is currently discussing this option with the government’s Highways Agency, and a further announcement will be made by the end of 2007. The project team has asked its engineering consult- ants, Gifford, to look at how measures like noise bar- riers and landscaping could be used to reduce the effects of this increased traffic.

The new Mersey Gateway

The vision is unveiled

Click here to see a fly-through of what the new Mersey Gateway will look like Read

The consultation has also raised a number of concerns about the impact a new bridge route will have on businesses along the route.

Meanwhile, the Mersey Gateway team say the project will give local people priority on discounts for crossing the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes when tolls come in to force in 2014.

David Parr, Halton chief executive, said: “As a result of the consultation we are fast-tracking our advance purchase plans so that local businesses know how the Mersey Gateway will affect their company.”

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