Completion of Highways England’s £192M A556 Knutsford to Bowdon dual carriageway project was marked on Friday with an official opening ceremony.

 

The 7.5km scheme links the M6 with the M56, bypassing the old A556 and several small villages to provide more reliable journeys for those travelling north towards Manchester Airport.

 

It is the first major project in the North West to be completed under the Government’s Road Investment Strategy. Highways England’s chief executive Jim O’Sullivan was joined by chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership George Osborne to celebrate the project’s delivery on time and to budget.

 

“The A556 is a key strategic route linking the West Midlands and Cheshire to Greater Manchester and Manchester International Airport,” said Jim O’Sullivan.

 

“The old road was heavily congested and compromised by busy crossroads. This new road, built to modern standards, will provide faster and more reliable journeys – benefiting commerce and commuters alike.”

 

Contractor Costain will now turn its efforts towards converting the old A556 to a single carriageway local road that will be known as the B5569. Work will also continue over the next few weeks to complete a ‘green bridge’ over the new road for crossings by wildlife and farm animals.

 

In total the A556 upgrade includes construction of seven new bridges and has seen over 200,000m² of surface course rolled out for the new road surface.

 

Meanwhile priorities to further support economic growth in the north through major road and rail improvements will soon be set out by Transport for the North, the organisation revealed this week.

 

TfN – which is set to become the UK’s first sub-national transport body – will publish an Initial Major Roads Report and an Initial Integrated Rail Report later this spring.

 

In the year ahead it will also commence work on a programme of new strategic development corridors for pan-northern transport interventions and launch a draft strategic transport plan for public engagement in the autumn.

 

♦ Further south, Highways England has launched a public consultation to gather views on its proposed dual carriageway upgrade of the A358 linking the M5 at Taunton with the A303. 

 

A preferred route for the project is expected to be announced this winter, with work starting in spring 2020 – the same year as the planned A303 Stonehenge upgrade nearby.