A key phase in a radical upgrade to Liverpool’s historic “Dock Road” begins next week.
Essential engineering works begin on Monday, 18 March on Waterloo Road and Regent Road which require a full closure to traffic for up to four weeks – after which a key section will be fully complete.
The closure will come into effect from 9.30am between Paisley Street and Blackstone Street to allow for drainage repairs, carriageway resurfacing and critical utility works.
Traffic flowing to and from Liverpool city centre will be diverted to use Great Howard Street (A565).
Once this phase is over this key section of the dock road will be completed with the scheme entering the final six months of an 18 month programme.
The next critical phase in the scheme, which began last March (2018) will see works to the route north of Bramley Moore Dock begin later in the Spring.
The works, which includes a new cycle way connecting Liverpool city centre to Sefton, are part of a new dual carriageway scheme on the A565 which has been funded by the Local Growth Fund (LGF).
Local Growth Funding is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through its Strategic Investment Fund.
This overall package of road improvements in the north Liverpool area is worth more than £100m and is a key element of Liverpool City Council’s £500m Better Roads programme to invest in the city’s highways network.
The North Liverpool corridor upgrade, which will complete this Autumn, is seen as crucial to the development of surrounding major regeneration schemes such as the Ten Streets creativity district and Everton FC’s proposed new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock and Peel Land and Property’s £5bn Liverpool Waters scheme.
Earlier phases on the A565 scheme included a new bridge, which was designed to support freight traffic for the Liverpool Superport and a new wall to improve access to the historic Stanley Flight canal lock system, which sits within Liverpool’s World Heritage site.
Councillor James Noakes, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “The North Liverpool corridor is a hugely complex highways scheme involving an immense amount of engineering works on two major roads at the same time.
“To ensure traffic flows this scheme can only be carried out by a phased approach which means some weeks there are full road closures and some weeks just lane closures.
“We really appreciate the patience of motorists as these essential works are carried out. Fortunately there are other alternative routes and with this key stretch of the Dock Road complete after this phase we can all begin to see the finishing line and a vastly improved journey in and out of North Liverpool.
“Of course, schemes of this nature cause disruption but the long term gains of this investment in north Liverpool’s infrastructure are going to help redefine our city’s economic future.”