Over three years of work to deliver the Mersey Gateway Project paid off at the weekend when the scheme’s centrepiece – a 1km long cable stayed bridge – opened to traffic. Members of the public gathered for a light and fireworks display on Friday evening to celebrate the occasion.

 

The new six lane bridge linking Runcorn with Widnes in Cheshire has been completed on time and under budget by Halton Borough Council and construction consortium Merseylink.

 

New and improved link roads connecting the structure over the Mersey estuary to the M56 and the main route towards Liverpool and the M62 also opened at the same time. 

 

In total the Mersey Gateway Project features more than 9km of new roads. The scheme also includes seven new or upgraded junctions, 12 bridges and an integrated traffic control information system.

 

According to Halton Borough Council leader and chair of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board Rob Polhill the new bridge “stands as an iconic, landmark structure that will help to put Halton on the map, while eliminating congestion across the borough.”

 

He added: “It will help make Halton a destination where businesses want to invest and families want to live.”

 

Merseylink general manager Hugh O’Connor commented: “While the bridge itself is a massive achievement, this project is also about the significant amount of road upgrades and junction improvements that are integral to the connectivity of the scheme too. The complexity and scale of the engineering challenge has reflected that, and has helped to create a very different landscape across Halton.”

 

The existing Silver Jubilee Bridge has now closed for vital refurbishment including installation of a new cycle lane as well as work to ‘de-link’ it from the main traffic route and the introduction of tolling infrastructure. The new Mersey Gateway Bridge also boasts free flow tolling technology.

 

♦ Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge partially reopened on Friday, having been closed since the opening of the new Queensferry Crossing to complete works aimed at converting it for use as a public transport corridor.

 

This work is now nearing completion and scheduled public buses have been able to use the structure from the end of last week. Other buses, taxis and motorcycles will be introduced to the bridge in the coming weeks.

 

(Photo: Merseylink)