A MAJOR upgrade of the two Mersey Tunnels is to get under way next month.

The £5m programme of improvement works is the biggest maintenance operation to be carried out at the two tunnels for more than a decade.

But it will mean a series of weekend and night closures to allow the work to take place.

It includes resurfacing the Kingsway (Wallasey) tunnel roadway, recladding the inside of the Queensway (Birkenhead) tunnel, and replacing some 6,000 lights.

Neil Scales, Chief Executive of Merseytravel, said: “This work is essential and will maintain the reputation of the tunnels as being among the safest in Europe.

“It will be the biggest maintenance operation we have undertaken in the tunnels for more than a decade and will mean a number of night closures, but we will keep disruption to a minimum. The work has been planned to avoid congestion when there are special events.

“The results will be that for motorists using the Kingsway there will be a smoother ride, and the Queensway will be brighter, cleaner and more attractive to drive through.”

Weekend work on resurfacing the Kingsway will begin in mid-April, with closure of the northbound tube from 7pm Friday evening until 6.30am Monday mornings.

The southbound tube will be closed the following weekend. In all, there will be a total of 26 weekend closures, with contraflow systems in operation.

Closures will normally start at 7pm but will be delayed until 11pm on football match nights.

Work on cladding the Queensway Tunnel is due to start in May and night closures will initially be for four nights a week. Mr Scales said: “The existing cladding has come to the end of its useful economic life and had always proved difficult to clean.

“The new cladding will be much easier to clean and will improve the reflected light within the tunnel.”

FULL details of the closures will be posted on the Mersey Tunnels website at www.merseytunnels.co.uk

A KEY Wirral road link will be closed overnight for around two weeks as part of £70m strengthening works.

The preparatory work on the M53 Bidston Moss Viaduct is being carried out ahead of the main construction, due to start in May.

The viaduct will be closed overnight for around two weeks in April to allow welding work on its steel beams to be carried out in safety.

The motorway will be closed in one direction only at the viaduct between 10pm and 5am each night, starting on April 6 and continuing until April 22.

Southbound closures will be on the nights of April 6 to 8, and from April 12 to 14; northbound closures will be on the nights of April 9 to April 11, and from April 19 to 21.

Clearly signed diversions will be in operation. Southbound drivers will be directed via the Docks Link Road to the A554 roundabout, then back to the M53 via the southbound access slip road.

Northbound the diversion is via the exit slip road at Junction 1, the A554 roundabout and the Wallasey Dock Link North.

The work on the Bidston Moss Viaduct is designed to allow heavier vehicles to be able to use all lanes on the route from the M53 motorway to the Kingsway tunnel.

The structure carries around 63,000 vehicles a day, including approximately 5,000 HGVs.

The scheme is jointly developed by Wirral Council, Merseytravel and the Highways Agency. The strengthening work is due to be finished by 2012.