Work to start on £5.3 million improvement to A483 and A55 junction
Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are set to benefit from quicker and safer journeys as part of a major improvement of the A55 and A483 roundabout near Chester which starts next month.
The £5.3 million project, part of the Government’s £317 million pinch point programme, is designed to support nearby 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.
Work to remodel the A55 and A483 roundabout south of the city, one of the busiest border routes in the country linking the North West to North and Mid Wales, will begin on Monday 15 September and is due to be completed by the end of next March.
Alan Shepherd, the Highways Agency’s director for the North West said:
This important project will make the junction safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists and improve journey times, helping to unlock the potential for new jobs and new homes on both sides of the border.
As well as increasing capacity around, onto and along approaches to the roundabout, the scheme also involves installing a pedestrian and cyclist bridge at the roundabout for the first time, providing a safer link for the A483 across the roundabout.
Pulford Roundabout, along the A483 south of the junction with the A55, will be removed as part of the work and replaced with traffic signals managing traffic along the A483 at the junction with the local B5445. A second junction with this section of the A483, at Rough Hill, will also get traffic signals installed along with a new right turn facility from the southbound A483.
The first phase of the work involves nightly closures of the A483 south of the roundabout in both directions with clearly signed diversions in place.
More information and regular updates are available from the project’s dedicated web page.
A second £130,000, pinch point project will also be delivered at the junction, with CCTV cameras being installed to identify incidents and congestion at the roundabout more quickly and improve incident and traffic management there. More information on this project is available here.
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.
Although both the A55 and A483 in England are operated by the Highways Agency, the A483 north of the roundabout is operated by Cheshire West and Chester Council which is backing the improvements.
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.