Liverpool City Council cabinet will be asked to approve £6.75m demolition works on the city centre flyovers which were closed at the end of September 2018. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool’s Churchill Way flyovers will disappear by the end of this year, the city council says.
Next Friday, July 19, the council’s cabinet will be asked to approve £6.75m demolition works on the city centre flyovers which were closed at the end of September 2018 following the discovery of serious structural flaws.
A more detailed examination revealed that multiple, significant defects could not be reversed and it would cost the council £7.2m just to maintain the structure, with no traffic allowed, for the remaining 20 years of its lifespan.
Temporary footbridge
Opened in 1970, the Churchill Way Flyovers consist of two separate roads linking Lime Street to Dale Street (south flyover) and Tithebarn Street (north flyover), running directly behind the city’s museums and galleries in William Brown Street.
The proposed demolition by contractor Amey, which includes the removal of the flyovers and associated footbridges, would see the installation of a temporary footbridge over Hunter Street; and minor highway improvements to address current traffic issues in the area. Several trees in the area will need to be removed but the council would seek to replant.
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At the same time the council’s highways team 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.
Minor alterations will also be made to the highway layout around the Hunter Street – Byrom Street – Queensway Tunnel entrance, to improve traffic and pedestrian movements.
Bus Hub
Engineers have also investigated potential impact to other nearby roadwork schemes, specifically the new city Bus Hub currently under construction on Old Haymarket, and concluded the demolition will have no negative effect.
Cllr James Noakes, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “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.
“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.”
Funding for the proposed demolition will come from the Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) Phase 1 Grant Fund Agreement and subject to Cabinet approval, the city council will seek to apply for a grant increase of £1.75m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to deliver the scheme.