Two 50 year old concrete flyovers are expected to be demolished this autumn in central Liverpool after the structures were closed last year following the discovery of several flaws.
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A report seeking permission to remove the Churchill Way flyovers in a phased demolition – which would be completed by the end of the year at a cost of £6.75M – will go before Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet this Friday.
This comes after investigations by Amey, which recommended in February that the structures could not be strengthened, and it would cost £7.2M to maintain them with no traffic for remaining 20 years of their lifespan.
Defects include poor quality concrete and steel, corroded tendons and ducts and signs of structural distress, including cracking over some supports.
“The Churchill Way flyovers are a relic of a cancelled highways plan from half a century ago and given the overwhelming weight of evidence against their safety, their removal is now the only viable option,” said the council’s cabinet member for highways James Noakes.
“This demolition is going to be a complex process. It cannot be done overnight and a lot of thought is going into the methodology to ensure the inconvenience to city centre traffic will be kept to a minimum.”
The flyovers opened in 1970 as part of a city centre inner ring road scheme that was later cancelled. Funding for their demolition will come from the £45M Liverpool City Centre Connectivity programme which includes plans to re-engineer major routes through the city and improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.
Demolition works could start in September and would also involve the removal of associated footbridges and minor improvements to highways to address current traffic issues. Meanwhile the council will develop a detailed proposal to improve connectivity in the area and a masterplan will be created to manage the land released by the demolition.
Amey Consulting’s principal project manager Trevor Cherryholme said: “The safety of the public is our primary concern and our inspection of the Churchill Way flyovers found that they are no longer adequate to carry vehicles or pedestrians. It is our view that there is no safe option other than demolition.”
(Photograph: Liverpool City Council)
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