New road bridge part of £50m Cheshire motorway improvements

Highways England is set to deliver a £50m overhaul of the roundabout at Junction 19 of the M6 motorway, near Knutsford.

In a month-long consultation held last summer, the scheme received the backing of Cheshire East and Tabley councils along with three quarters of drivers and other respondents.

Highways England will move forward with ‘Option A’, creating a bridge across the middle of the roundabout where the motorway meets the northbound A556 Knutsford-to-Bowdon dual carriageway.

The new structure will serve as a dedicated link between the northbound M6 and the A556, as well as the southbound M6 onto the southbound A556 towards Northwich.

The improvements will also deliver wider lanes on the existing roundabout, increasing capacity, as well as new traffic lights at several points, including on the roundabout and its approach roads.

Local access will be enhanced for walkers, cyclists and horse riders at the junction.

Irene Ofei, Highways England project manager, said: “We are delighted to announce the scheme we are taking forward is the one which was the overwhelming choice of people taking part in last year’s consultation.

“We feel this option will deliver most and lasting benefits in terms of improving journey reliability and safety and increasing capacity.”

She added: “The new link roads across the middle of the roundabout will take a lot of traffic away from other parts of the roundabout, reducing congestion for everyone.”

Further work to refine the proposal will now take place.

Construction efforts could start as soon as March 2019 but no later than March 2020, Highways England confirmed.

Money for project is provided as part of the Government’s £15bn Road Investment Strategy (RIS).

It is hoped the scheme will help boost the Northern Powerhouse agenda, improving transport connectivity and reliability in the North.

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