The A59 will see a 12-month programme of works from Monday, April 8, taking in a stretch from the junction with Great Mersey Street to Queens Drive in Walton. Tony McDonough reports
A major arterial route running through North Liverpool to the city centre is to get a major upgrade costing £5.9m and starting this spring.
The A59, the historic Liverpool to Preston Road, will see a 12-month programme of works from Monday, April 8, taking in a stretch from the junction with Great Mersey Street to Queens Drive in Walton and including Walton Road and County Road.
The scheme has been designed to minimise impact to road users and has been scheduled to begin after The Grand National, with Aintree Racecourse situated just a few minutes’ drive along the A59.
Contractors King Construction will undertake the work on the A59 which will include three upgraded crossings, a new toucan crossing and two new pedestrian crossings, bus priority at two major junctions and 2km of road resurfacing.
Works will begin at the city centre end of the stretch, near to Scotland Road, with the scheme working north towards Queen Drive.
At certain times there may be road closures required to allow for safe working. These planned closures will be limited to overnight only (between 8pm and 6am) – unless there are unforeseen circumstances or an emergency situation arises.
Diversion routes will be in place and given the A59 also services the M57, M58 and M62, road users are advised that delays will be likely and those travelling to and from the Walton, Kirkdale and Anfield areas are encouraged to explore alternative journeys.
The scheme is a key element of Liverpool City Council’s £500m Better Roads programme and is being mostly funded by the Local Growth Fund, awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through its Strategic Investment Fund.
Andy Barr, Liverpool City Council’s head of highways, said: “This revamp of the A59 in Walton is a significant and much needed investment and a good example of how the Better Roads programme is improving Liverpool’s highways infrastructure.
“Naturally, for a major arterial road connecting Liverpool city centre to our motorways and passing major venues as as Goodison Park and Aintree Racecourse, works of this scale will cause disruption but the programme has been designed to minimise impact.”