Chester’s £5.3 million junction improvements near final stage
Road users will be able to find out more about a £5.3 million project to tackle congestion on a key route between the North West and Wales on Thursday 11 December, ahead of the final stage of the scheme starting next month.
The team behind the Highways Agency project at the roundabout linking the A55 to the A483 near Chester will be available to answer questions at the Holiday Inn near the junction. Plans showing the new road layout will also be available.
The final phase of the project is due to begin on Monday 5 January and will see traffic lights installed at the roundabout as well as road widening improvements made to parts of the junction.
Contractors have already installed traffic lights at the A483 junction with Rough Hill, just south of the A55 roundabout. A separate £129,000 scheme has also been completed to provide CCTV cameras at the roundabout.
Work is currently taking place to replace the roundabout at the junction linking the A483 to the B5445 Wrexham Road with traffic lights, and a new footbridge is also being built over the A55.
Mark Mosley, Project Manager at the Highways Agency, said:
We’ve been working hard to carry out improvements to the A55 and A483 since September, and this event is an opportunity for people to find out what’s happened so far and what’s still to come.
The roundabout linking the A55 to the A483 is heavily used and this project is designed to help reduce congestion and improve journey times through the junction. The new footbridge will also provide a safe route over the junction for pedestrians and cyclists.
We’d like to thank drivers for their patience over the past few months and hope they will continue to bear with us as the scheme nears its completion. The end result should help bring a major boost to both the local and regional economy.
The westbound exit slip road from the A55 onto the A483 will be reduced to two lanes for nearly two months from January while work is carried out to widen the road.
The A483 northbound approach to the roundabout will also be reduced to two lanes, and there will be a lane closure on the roundabout itself. A temporary 50mph speed limit will be in place.
The £5.3 million project, part of the Government’s £317 million pinch point programme, is designed to support Chester Business Park and help generate investment which will potentially lead to more than 11,500 jobs and 1,700 homes in the area by 2020. The project is due to be completed by the end of March.
The pinch point programme, devised with the input of councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships, is designed to help stimulate new development and local economic growth by improving road safety and tackling congestion bottle necks. In all, 28 projects worth £66 million are being delivered across the North West.
Members of the project teams from the Highways Agency and contractors Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald will be at the Holiday Inn on the A483 Wrexham Road, north of the roundabout, between 8am and 8pm on Thursday 11 December.
More details on the scheme are available on the scheme pages.
General enquiries
Members of the public should contact the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000.
Media enquiries
Journalists should contact the Highways Agency press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.