Progress being made on A556 scheme

Work on the Highways England A556 Knutsford to Bowdon improvement scheme is progressing well.

As part of the £192 million project to build the new dual carriageway between junction 19 of the M6 and junction 7 of the M56, the team working on the scheme re-modelled slip arrangements between the existing A556 and junction 7 of the M56.

This has involved pairing the existing Bowdon roundabout with a new, smaller roundabout which opened in September 2016. The two roundabouts are linked by a new bridge – with the new link roads between the A556 and M56 travelling under this.

Paul Hampson, Highways England project manager, said: “It was a wonderful early Christmas present for drivers to experience the benefits of the new A556 in advance of the main scheme opening. It is testament to the efforts of everybody involved that we safely achieved this milestone and it is a major step forward for the project as we look towards completing the new road.”

Rachel Ellison, Costain project manager, added: “To achieve this crucial milestone before Christmas was a fantastic achievement by all involved. It has been the perfect end to an incredible year for the scheme. As we enter the New Year, we are focused on working with Highways England to achieve the next milestone to open the new road to traffic in the spring.”

Construction of the new A556 link road, between the M56 and the M6, started in November 2014 and is expected to be open to traffic in March 2017.