A major route into the centre of Liverpool has at long last been reopened – great news for companies seeking office space in Liverpool anytime soon.
The Liverpool Echo reported that the new bridge over the A565 Great Howard Street reopened on Saturday September 9th. The bridge leads in and out of the city centre and has been closed for over a year, having not taken any commuters or other travellers since August 2016.
The closure was necessary to allow for the £10 million replacement of the major route.
One lane of the dual carriageway is now open in each direction following the completion of the major civil engineering project, while the remaining lanes and pavements will continue to be shut off from public use until the footpaths are completed along with other necessary utilities.
The A565 Great Howard Street transports traffic over a disused railway line to north Liverpool Docks and the bridge project is just a small part of the much larger £100 million infrastructure scheme to regenerate north Liverpool’s Atlantic Corridor.
The next stages of the £48 million initiative to upgrade the A565 until 2019 will require lane restrictions in order to complete the dual carriageway on the A565 Great Howard Street/Derby Road between King Edward Street and Blackstone Street and Bankhall Street to Millers Bridge.
Furthermore, Regent Road will undergo work to improve access for pedestrians and cyclists, while a new link road extending Leeds Street to the waterfront is being installed.
“We would like to thank motorists and local residents for their patience while this work has been carried out,” Deputy Mayor councillor Ann O’Byrne was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
“It has been a challenging engineering project due to the age of the structure and the condition of the foundations, but what we have now is a new bridge which will carry thousands of vehicles over it every day for many decades to come. This is a really crucial route in and out of the city, which is why we are investing significantly to make sure it is able to carry freight and cars.”
She added that this route is “critical” to the future economic prosperity of Liverpool and will help to generate more jobs in the city in the coming years.
Liverpool is undergoing major regeneration works at present. The Kings Dock area of the city is also being redeveloped, with plans on the table to build a new hotel, apartments, a Winter Garden and ice-rink, all being well.
“This is brilliant news for Liverpool and could ultimately lead to the creation of a new riverside destination, boosting our visitor economy and creating jobs for local people,” said Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool.
The consultation period for the next phase of this development commences this month (September), opening up the plans to the public forum.
Kings Dock is a major hub for the city already, with the landmark ACC Liverpool, the Echo Wheel of Liverpool and the John Lennon Peace Monument.