A55 and A483 weekend closures as £6 million improvement nears completion
Drivers using the A55 and A483 south of Chester are being advised the west bridge of Posthouse Roundabout and the northbound A483 onto the roundabout will be affected by partial daytime and full overnight closures from Friday (19 June, 8pm) to Monday (22 June, 5am) as the £6 million Highways England improvement scheme nears completion.
The overnight closures will include all the western side of the roundabout and the northbound carriageway from Pulford traffic signals. However, during the day on Saturday and Sunday, although the western bridge section of the roundabout will be closed, one lane will remain open on the A483 northbound and the westbound on slip road and eastbound off slip road.
Highways England says the improvement – designed to tackle long-standing congestion and help pave the way for new homes and business investment – is on course for completion by Sunday 28 June.
The scheme will deliver jobs and growth to the economy with over 11500 jobs in the wider area by 2020 and a further 3750 jobs beyond 2020.
Highways England North West Asset Delivery Manager Andy Withington said:
We apologise for the delay and disruption in completing this complicated improvement and for the inconvenience these delays have caused to road users on both sides of the border. We have pulled out all the stops to make sure that the project is completed by Sunday 28 June and are still on course to open the road by then.
We would like to thank road users for their continued patience and hope they will appreciate more reliable journeys through the junction and the longer term benefits such as investment in jobs and housing these improvements will bring.
We have tried to keep traffic moving during the day on the A483 by keeping one lane open northbound onto the roundabout but as there will be no right turn onto the A55 eastbound, traffic will have to follow diversion routes onto the A55 via Junction 35.
Diversion routes will be in place over the weekend closures and drivers are encouraged not to use the roundabout unless it is absolutely necessary.
Users of the junction are advised to leave extra time to take diversion routes with delays at peak times likely.
The junction improvement was made in response to concerns about the impact of congestion on commuters and business investment – with agencies on both sides of the border including the Welsh Assembly Government, Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership and Flintshire County Council supporting the initiative.
By increasing capacity on the roundabout and slip roads and improving the flow of traffic on the A483 south of the roundabout peak-time journey times through the junction are expected to drop to almost off-peak levels.
Full details of road closures are on the Highways England website.
General enquiries
Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.
Media enquiries
Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.