New M6-M56 link road well under way

NEW aerial photographs show work on the £192 million new A556 road linking the M6 and M56 in Cheshire, south of Warrington, well underway.
Meanwhile Highways England and Costain, the lead contractor for the Knutsford to Bowdon improvement – which will bypass the existing A556 – have launched a newsletter to ensure residents and other local people are kept up to date with progress.
Work started in November and is set to be completed in early 2017.
Highways England project manager Jonathan Stokes said: “Aerial photographs provide us with useful information to help us with the construction of the road but also give us a perfect opportunity to share the progress we are making and how the new road is developing.
“It’s obviously early days but even these first pictures show how the new link road is starting to take shape.”
Welcoming news of the progress so far, Roads Minister Andrew Jones said:
“Roads are key to our nation’s prosperity. Our investment in roads is the biggest in a generation and is a key part of our long term economic plan.
“We are delivering the promises on road investment and these pictures demonstrate the excellent progress being made on the A556. The new road will divert heavy traffic away from local villages, making it is easier for residents to see friends and family and creating jobs and
opportunities.”
The early months of the project have been spent on setting up the main project offices along the A56 Lymm Road just off Bowdon roundabout. The site also includes material and plant storage facilities. Other work has included installing boundary fencing and environmental mitigation
measures.
The project is now entering a key stage with work on installing three of the new road’s seven bridges – the ones at Bowdon, Tabley and Millington – as well as an underpass at Old Hall Lane. Work on clearing land to accommodate a new roundabout as part of the remodelled M56 junction 7 is
also underway
Residents and local people can keep up to date with progress through a newsletter – with the first edition due to be published and posted through local doors over the next few weeks. The newsletter can be read online at: http://www.highways.gov.uk/publications/a556-knutsford-to-
bowdon-improvement-newsletter-issue-1-july-2015/
More information, including an option to sign up for regular email updates, is available from the official project page at:http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/A556-Knutsford-to-
Bowdon-Improvement