Waterloo Road/Regent Road corridor is to be closed in both directions from the junction at Paisley Street through to Blackstone Street for four weeks from Monday. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool’s dock road will close for four weeks from Monday, November 12, to enable vital works to take place to support the city’s new Isle of Man Ferry Terminal.
The Waterloo Road/Regent Road corridor is to be closed in both directions from the junction at Paisley Street through to Blackstone Street in the heart of north Liverpool’s Ten Streets district.
The closure will enable contractors – Osborne – to install underground utility and drainage works for the new £7.6m waterfront link road which is being built for the forthcoming Isle of Man ferry terminal at Princes Dock and to support the construction of new residential developments now on site in Peel Land and Property’s £5bn Liverpool Waters scheme.
See images and fly-through of Liverpool’s new cruise terminal
Traffic heading into and out of the city centre will be diverted to use parallel routes such as Great Howard Street/Derby Road (A565), Scotland Road (A59) and Stanley Road and Great Homer Street.
Traffic signs will be advising commuters that the best access to the Costco site will be from Great Howard Street. Access for residents and businesses in the area will be maintained.
Essential works
The closure will also allow Osborne to undertake essential works associated with the North Liverpool Key Corridor project, such as the widening of the pavement.
The contract for the new Isle of Man ferry link road has been funded by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through its Single Investment Fund.
Nw images of the terminal have been released by the Isle of Man government in the last few days and facilities include a riverside footbridge linking to the new hotel that will be built to service both it and the new cruise terminal.
Construction work is due to start early next year although the final approval still needs to be given by the Tynwald, the Isle of Man’s Parliament.
Signalised junction
A second new link road will also be built to provide a connection between the existing Bath Street/Princes Parade/Waterloo Road junction and the new signalised junction at Leeds Street/Great Howard Street.
The new junction on Great Howard Street is part of a major £32m revamp to make it a full dual carriageway – including a new bridge which opened last September. The latest phase – a four-week programme of utility works which closed access to the road at various points is now complete and the road will be open in both directions on Monday.
Economic changes
Cllr James Noakes, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “There is a huge amount of investment going into the highways infrastructure around the North Liverpool corridor which is a fantastic sign of the amazing economic changes this area is undergoing.
“However, such is the complexity and sheer scale of the works being undertaken it is unavoidable that this will not have an impact on commuters.
“Great Howard Street and Waterloo Road are vital arteries for the city centre but the problem we have is that they have been neglected for decades and we need to ensure they are not just fit for now, but for the rest of this century.”