Skip to main content

New UK dual carriageway opening

Drivers in the UK are to benefit from the opening of a new dual carriageway connection. The section of road is a key route for Highways England, improving the connection between junction 19 of the M6 and junction 7 of the M56 motorways. The new A556 Knutsford to Bowdon link road will cut congestion and journey times for drivers in the area. As part of the £192 million project to build the new dual carriageway between, Highways England has remodelled slip roads at Yarwood Heath and Bowdon roundabouts. The
December 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Drivers in the UK are to benefit from the opening of a new dual carriageway connection. The section of road is a key route for 8100 Highways England, improving the connection between junction 19 of the M6 and junction 7 of the M56 motorways. The new A556 Knutsford to Bowdon link road will cut congestion and journey times for drivers in the area. As part of the £192 million project to build the new dual carriageway between, Highways England has remodelled slip roads at Yarwood Heath and Bowdon roundabouts.

The new dual carriageway is part of a £15 billion investment by the UK Government in motorways and major A roads by 2021, which is being delivered by Highways England as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Overnight working will mean that by Monday 26th December 2016, drivers leaving the northbound A556 will have direct access onto the eastbound M56 and motorists leaving the westbound M56 will get direct access onto the southbound A556. This will benefit drivers who had to previously negotiate traffic lights and or Bowdon roundabout. The roundabout will now solely be used by drivers joining or leaving the local road network.

This weekend’s work will also mark the re-opening of the M56 eastbound exit slip road at junction 7 after a 5-month closure - with drivers sent onto the new Bowdon roundabout for access to the southbound A556 or local road network, including the A56 local roads for Bowdon and Altrincham. All the new arrangements will be tied-in to the new A556 dual carriageway ahead of its opening in the spring.

The remodelling of slip road arrangements between the existing A556 and junction 7 of the M56 has involved pairing the existing Bowdon roundabout with a new, smaller roundabout which opened in September. The 2 roundabouts are linked by a new bridge – with the new link roads between the A556 and M56 travelling under this.

Construction of the new A556 link road, between the M56 and the M6, started in November 2014 and is due for completion in spring next year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK moves to disclose road data to app makers
    August 28, 2019
    The UK is proposing to share road network data, including roadworks, with makers of mobile apps to warn drivers of potential congestion months in advance. The information for navigational apps powered by artificial intelligence would warn of planned changes to the road network, including work zone arrangements, which would enhance worker safety. Tech firms could soon get access to the necessary data thanks to a UK government review of legislation around Traffic Regulation Orders. The orders behind res
  • NSW Australia investing in transport
    June 20, 2013
    Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) Government has outlined its massive transportation investment in the WestConnex project. This will be the largest urban transport project in the history of New South Wales. Some A$1.8 billion will be invested over four years from Restart NSW, the state’s new infrastructure fund. to finance the WestConnex project. And A$111 million will be committed in 2013-14 to get work underway on the 33km motorway. The NSW Government will fund the initial sections of the motorway. Privat
  • Off road trials for electric highways technology
    August 11, 2015
    Following the completion of the feasibility study commissioned by Highways England into dynamic wireless power transfer technologies, off road trials of the technology needed to power electric and hybrid vehicles on England’s major roads are due to take place later this year. The trials are the first of their kind and will test how the technology would work safely and effectively on the country’s motorways and major A roads, allowing drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles to travel long distances without
  • Green screens cause drivers to slow down
    February 15, 2012
    A high risk collision site on the busy A574 in the UK has been made safer thanks to the installation of environmentally friendly Green Screens. The 1.8m high screens have been installed on the approach to the roundabout at the junction of Birchwood Way and Woolston Grange Avenue and mean that approaching vehicles have to slow down when approaching the roundabout. Warrington Borough Council explained that as the roundabout is large, many motorists approaching from the direction of the M6 motorway do so at s