A556 opens

On the 6th of February 2017 the A556 opened to traffic,  the new road linking the M56 near to Altrincham to the M6 close to Knutsford will ease congestion along this busy corridor which provides access for motorists from South Manchester who wish to access the M6.

For more information about the project click here

Rather than describing the route and displaying images I thought it would be best if I simply drove along the new route, starting at the M6 junction 19 and finishing at the M56 junction 8 heading eastbound.

Enjoy!

Turn ON subtitles (CC) for route description 

It appears that there have been some issues with the traffic lights at Junction 19 of the M6, with motorists reporting increased congestion. A statement was posted on the A556 Facebook Page stating that engineers are currently monitoring the phasing of the lights.

"........ It became obvious during the peak periods of traffic on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning that there is still an issue with the traffic signals.

Highways England apologises for the disruption that this has caused and currently have engineers on site investigating the issue. They have identified a fault which they hope to resolve shortly and which will return the traffic signals to full working order."

I will update on the de-trunking works in a few months, this final phase will provide improved cycle, pedestrian and equestrian access along the B5569 (Old A556).

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Building a new North South railway - part 1 (update)

It is widely anticipated that the Bill giving the go ahead to construct the first phase of HS2 between London, Birmingham with a connection to the WCML at Rugeley will receive Royal Assent early this year (2017). So I thought now would be a good time to take a look at the methods that will likely be used to construct the new railway.

Update
The bill giving the go ahead to construct phase 1 of HS2 was given Royal Assent on Thursday 23rd of February.

This blog will focus solely on the construction and engineering involved, so I will leave a description of project and the political aspects of the planning to one side.

To begin with I want to explore how you go about altering the landscape in order to build a new high-speed railway that is as flat and straight as possible. With a maximum design speed of 400km/h (250mph) over the straightest sections of track it is important that the curve radius is long as possible, in the case of HS2 the minimum horizontal radius for 400km/h operation is 7200m.

Using knowledge gained from following other road and rail projects it's possible to examine how the new line will likely be built and the construction methods involved.

The closest recent parallel that I can draw upon is the construction of a new grade separated rail junction at Norton Bridge (Staffordshire), this project required the construction of 11 bridges and 9.6km of new railway.

Other parallels can be drawn from the construction of 7.5km of new dual carriageway connecting the M6 and M56 in Cheshire.

With both projects a large part of the work "simply" involved moving earth via moxy (articulated dump truck) from one part of the site to the other, although there was of course a systematic and very purposeful way in which this is done.

As with any large construction project the first stage will involve establishing compound sites along the route in which offices and staff facilities will be located and plant machinery stored.

Before any site clearance can commence the area within the site boundary must be free of protected species such as great crested newts for a number of weeks, during which time regular inspections must take place. 

Once the site boundary is established (and free of newts) and compounds complete the next task is to begin preparing the land through which the line will be built. In rural areas this will involve stripping and storing the initial layer of fertile earth. The earth is stored close to where it was originally excavated from, this is so it can be returned back to the land once final landscaping commences.

In built up areas the initial phase of construction will involve demolition and site clearance. For HS2 this demolition will mostly take place around the Euston terminus and Birmingham station. In this part though I'd like to focus on the groundworks required in rural areas.

In rural areas the fertile earth is stored close to where it was excavated from, by doing this much of the ecology can be retained, this will help with the process of reestablishing wildlife habitats and returning agricultural land back to use. 

A556 initial groundworks March 2015

The next phase of construction will involve deep excavation of cuttings and the building of embankments and structures. To do this excavators working in tandem with moxys will excavate and then move material from cuttings to areas where embankments will be built.

In this way it is possible to sculpt the landscape without having to move any earth off site by road or rail. Spoil from the excavation of tunnels can also be translocated to different parts of the site in this way.

Stafford Area Improvement Programme ground works.

The construction of a new grade separated junction at Norton Bridge is a good example how vast quantities of earth can be moved without the need to take any off site. In all 1 million tonnes of earth was moved in order to construct the 7.5km track and 11 bridges required for the project, yet non had to be taken off site.

This was achieved by creating a temporary road which extended along the length of the site, this haul road was then used to transport the material from where it was being excavated to where it was required. With 11 bridges constructed a lot of material was required in order to build approaches to overbridges. Earth was also used for landscaping either side of the line in order reduce the impact of the line on the landscape.

Of course for HS2 there will not a be a single 100km haul road, a project of this scale will be split up into sections, however withing each section it is likely that the same method of moving material will be employed.

A556 overbridge

The image above of a new overbridge constructed for the A556 project demonstrates where material is required in order to build new approaches. Earth was eventually built up on either side in order to build approaches for a new road overbridge.

It was suggested by a rural campaign group that millions of lorry loads will be required to take material off site by road, however the A556 and SAIP projects show that this needn't and will more than likely not be the case.


In part two I will discus the construction of bridge structures and look at how the impact on the existing road network can be minimised.


You can read part two here

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A556 project February 2017 update - Part 2

In part one of the February update I detailed progress from the M6 junction 19 to the new A50 overbridge and roundabout, in part two I will detail progress from the M56 junction 7 heading south to the new Chapel Lane overbridge. 

The new grade separated junction at the M56 junction 7 was one of the largest single elements of the project, requiring the construction of a new overbridge, roundabout, slip roads and refurbishment of the existing bridge over the M56.

The new grade separated junction of the M56/A556 interchange was one of the first beneficial elements of the project to open. Now traffic travelling to and from Manchester can avoid the existing flat roundabout which connected the A556 to the A56 westbound to Warrington and northbound to Altrincham

New A556 alignment carrying traffic to/from the M56 toward Manchester

Looking west towards Manchester from the new bridge over the A556 which connects the existing roundabout for Altrincham to the new roundabout which connects to the A556 southern entry slip, westbound exit slip and westbound entry slip from/to the M56.

Overbridge connecting the existing roundabout for Altrincham to the new roundabout which connects to the A556 southern entry slip and the exit slip from the westbound M56

New A556 alignment carrying traffic to/from the M56

The initial map I produced (shown below) shows the new alignment and should help with the explanation of the new junction 7 arrangement.

click to enlarge

One of the last major tasks to completed before the new road can open is the tying in of the M56 with the new carriageway. This will require a number of overnight and weekend closures. The image below shows the the northern-most section of the new A556 alignment, which like the M6 end has been surfaced to within a few meters of where the new and existing carriageways will tie in.

View from Millington Lane looking north toward Altrincham

The new overbridge at Millington Lane is now open, with some work still being undertaken to provide access for local residents and business. 

View from Millington Lane looking north toward Altrincham

The image below shows that work on the new carriageway is at an advanced stage, the central concrete barrier is now complete and work is now focusing on installing steel barriers, signs and landscaping.

View from Millington Lane looking south toward the M6

Millington Lane overbridge as viewed from Chapel Lane 

Chapel Lane overbridge is also complete and open to traffic, this bridge provides cycle lanes either side of the road.

View from Chapel Lane looking north toward the M56

View from Chapel Lane looking south toward the M6

This will probably be the last blog update on the A556 until the new road opens at the end of March. I hope to be there on the opening day if possible. I'll be sure to provide full details of the new road and later in the year return to see how work is progressing on de-truncking what will become the B5569.

I will leave you with one of the very first images I captured of the project back in March 2015 showing initial ground works at junction 7 of the M56. 

A556 Project February 2017 update - Part 1

I have been following the A556 project for almost 2 years. from the initial ground works through to construction of new bridges and the road itself. Now the main project to construct the new road is in the final phase of construction and the new A556 alignment is due to open at the end of March.

Once the new alignment opens the existing A556 will be detrunked and renamed the B5569, the exiting road will provide improved access for local traffic, cyclists and equestrians. Work to detrunk the current A556 is expected to take place between Autumn and Winter 2017.

For some background information on the project you can find my first blog from March 2015 here

Facts and figures

• 51,000 vehicles per day currently use the A556
• Cost of the project £191.9m
• A new 7.5km grade separated dual carriageway will be constructed
• 130,000 tonnes of tarmac used
• 300 people employed on site at the height of construction
• 5 new overpasses constructed 
• The main contractor for the project is Costain

During my latest visit I took a large number of images so have split this update into 2 parts. This first part will begin at the M6 junction 19 heading north to the new junction with the A50. You can read part two here, which details the project from the M56 heading south to Chapel Lane.


Work to tie-in the new road into the exiting M6 junction 19 is well underway, barriers are being installed and signs erected. The carriageway has been surfaced to within a few meters of the junction, the remaining surfacing will take place between February and March.

The image below was taken from junction 19 and shows the new carriageway, the bridge at the bottom of the image will provide pedestrian access between Old hall lane and the old A556 alignment. The bridge in the background will provide vehicle access between Old Hall Lane and the old A556.

The bridge in background will connect Old Hall Lane with the old A556 alignment

The image below shows the the new carriageway as it approaches junction 19, the final tie-in work is due to be completed over the coming weeks.

New approach to M6 junction 19 from the new A556 alignment

Old Hall Lane pedestrian access

As the new Old Hall Lane bridge was not yet open the next bridge I visited was that of the new A50 overpass, this bridge was completed and opened to traffic in August 2016. The old A50 alignment has since been removed, the compound which served the site has also been removed, the area is now being landscaped, with fences and barriers also being installed.

The compound which severed the A50/A556 junction works has been removed

The image below shows the new carriageway looking north to the M56, to the left the entry slip from the A50 onto the A556.

Looking north toward the M56 from the new A50 over-bridge

The image below is looking south from the A50 overbridge towards the M6, the bridge in the background is the "green bridge" which will allow wildlife to safely cross the new road between what was one single habitat.

Looking south toward the M6 from the new A50 overbridge

The curved section of road in the image below will carry traffic from the new roundabout on the A50 to the northbound A556.

New slip road connecting the A50 with the A556 NB

A number of night time and weekend closure have been announced as work to tie in the existing road to the new road continues. You can find up to date information regarding planned closures on he A556 Facebook page

Part 2 will show progress from the M56 heading south to the new Chapel Lane bridge.

A556 Knutsford to Bowdon project August update

Work to construct a new 7.5km dual carriageway connecting the M56 and M6 has been progressing steadily since 2014 and despite a very wet 2015 the project looks set for completion in early 2017. 

If you are unfamiliar with the project you can find some background information here

My last update was published only 2 months ago, however since then a lot has happened so I thought I would return back to the project to check on progress. During this visit I was granted privileged access to parts of the site not easily photographed from the public highway. 

With the help of my guide for the afternoon I was able to get some close up shots of a number of bridges being constructed. It was also a chance to see close up how much work had progressed on the road itself, with some stretches requiring only 1 last course of tarmac and lines to be painted. 

The first major milestone to report is the completion of the bridge that will carry traffic travelling on the A50 over the new A556 alignment when it opens. The A50 was realigned on the night of Thursday the 28th of August and reopened to traffic on Friday morning.

The A50 was scheduled to be closed on 2 nights between the 28th and 29th of August, however work was completed ahead of schedule so only 1 night time closure was required. 

Traffic travelling over this section of the A50 is currently under traffic light control whilst the remainder of the work is carried out to complete the tie-ins that connect the existing A50 to the new alignment over the bridge.

The images below were taken from the old A50 road alignment and show traffic using the new bridge to pass over what will be the new A556 road. 

As well as the A50 bridge a number of other new bridges are being constructed to carry traffic over the A556.

Starting from the southern end (closest to the M6), Old Hall Lane underpass is now complete and work to infill the area surrounding the underpass is at an advanced stage. The entrance to the underpass is just visible at the bottom of the image below. 

The bridge in the image below, also visible in the image above will provide access for traffic wishing the access the M6 from the existing A556 alignment and the service station located next to junction 19 of the M6.

An exit slip will carry traffic travelling north towards a newly constructed roundabout before travelling over the bridge. A road will link this and a southbound entry slip to the existing A556 alignment. 

The road, slip roads and bridge are close to completion. On the day of my visit a Cat D6T dozer was working in in tandem with a Bomag smooth drum roller to prepare the road foundation, before the sub base and subsequent courses are laid. 

Travelling northwards the next bridge which will provide access for Bentley Hurst Farm is almost complete. The earth mound behind the bridge is the existing Bentley Hurst lane, once the lane has been diverted over the new bridge the earth on which the existing lane sits will be excavated to make way for the A556.

After Bentley Hurst lane travelling north is the green bridge. This bridge is being constructed solely to provide a link for wildlife to pass safely between habitats thus reducing the impact on the natural environment.

During the project a number of other environmental mitigation methods will be employed, such as the creation of 50 hectares of new habitat woodland and the use of "bat overs". The bat overs are wooden fences erected between areas of woodland which are used to redirect bats up and over the road and safely over HGVs and other vehicles. 

The green bridge is in a relatively early stage of construction as can been seen in the image below. However with all other bridge structures constructed work can focus completing the green bridge.

The image below shows an example of a bat over used to help divert bats up and over traffic. 

The structure for what will be Chapel Lane bridge pictured below is complete, work is now focusing on building up earth around either side of the bridge in order to build approaches. Once the approaches are built Chapel Lane can then be diverted and the existing road excavated.

Unfortunately there wasn't a safe vantage point from which to photograph Millington Lane bridge, however the bridge structure is complete and work to infill earth around the bridge is under way. 

During my visit I got to see some of the completed sections of the road, the image below shows the new concrete central reservation barrier of which a large section has already been complete. The road surface on this particular section has already been laid up to it's 2nd to last course, which means this section only needs a final surface dressing and lines painting before it is complete. 

There is still a great deal of work to be carried out on other sections of the route however, the existing Bentley Hurst lane for example still has to be excavated down to a depth of around 5 meters before it is level with the new A556 alignment. Millington Lane is also yet to be diverted and excavated.

Work on Chapel Lane and Millgton Lane will take place during September to divert the existing roads to the new aliments. The works will require a number of closures therefore residents are urged to check local press and social media for updates.

Some stretches are nearing completion (above) whilst others are still being excavated (below)

At the M56/A556 junction engineers are pushing to complete the new junction in order so the M56 eastbound exit slip can reopen in December this year.

As this project draws to and end I will be keeping a close eye on progress and report any major developments over the coming months.

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A556 Knutsford to Bowdon - June 2016 update

It has been over a year since I started following the project to construct a new dual carriageway to replace the existing A556 alignment which connects the M56 at Bowdon to the M6 at Knutsford. In that time it has been fascinating to watch the project develop, now in June 2016 some tangible signs of the new road are beginning to take shape. 

Looking North from the A50 it is possible too see the first signs of the new road surface being constructed. On the day of my visit the site which sits on the A50 was a hive of activity, with articulated tipper trucks delivering thousands of tonnes of stone to create the base course.

Looking south from the A50 the main bridge structure which will eventually carry the A50 over the new A556 alignment is complete. With the bridge deck complete work has now shifted to building up earth on either side of the bridge in order to create an approach for the new A50 alignment. 

 

Looking between the bridge piers it is possible to see that work has also begun to construct the base layer to the south of the A50.

At junction 19 of the M6 work has reached the stage where construction can begin on the interface between the existing junction 19 and the new A556 alignment. 

Old Hall lane has now been closed permanently and a new underpass has been constructed, however this will only allow access for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. 

In the picture below it is possible to see the bridge that will provide the southbound entry/exit toward the M6 from the existing A556 alignment onto the new road. In distance the other bridge in the picture will provide local access over Bentley Hurst Lane.

At the Millington Lane site the bridge which will carry the lane over the A556 has been constructed and work can now focus on building the new lane alignment. Once the new lane alignment has been constructed work can move on to excavating the existing lane to bring the level down to that of the new A556 alignment. 

At the M56 end of the project some initial road surfacing is already taking place, with asphalt already having been laid on some stretches of the new road. 

Work to prepare the interface between the new road and the existing A556 is still underway with significant works already undertaken on the existing road. 

With another year to go until the completion of the project it is clear that there is still a great deal to do, however with ground works commencing well and key elements already complete there is no reason why the road shouldn't open on time in early 2017.


For more information about the project click here

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A556 Knutsford to Bowdon - January 2016 update

It has been 4 months since I last visited the project to construct a new dual carriageway connecting the M56 and M6 between Knutsford and Bowden. During my visit in August (2015) a considerable amount of earth works had been carried out, however no structures were yet visible. Over the past few months however several bridge structures have been constructed and now are clearly visible. 

Starting at the M6 end of the project, the bridge pictured below will take the new A556 alignment over Old Hall Ln before approaching the junction for the M6.

[Click image to enlarge]

Travelling north, the bridge piers shown below will carry A50 Warrington Road, which will be re-aligned at this point to pass over the A556. 

A new roundabout will also be constructed on the A50 to allow traffic to join the northbound A556.

One of the more advanced work sites is located at Millington Lane where a new bridge is being constructed to carry the lane over the A556.

The lane will have to be re-aligned north in order to pass over the A556 on the new bridge. 

Below are some pictures taken of the new bridge beams which had been lifted into place that morning. By the afternoon worsening weather conditions meant that the final lifts had to be postponed.

The piers shown below will eventually take take the new A556 alignment under a bridge which will be used to create a new grade separated junction bypassing the roundabout at Bowdon. 

The new junction will comprise the existing runabout wich will connect the A56 Dunham Road which heads in the direction of Altrincham, the A56 Lymm Rd, the nortbound exit slip from the A556 and the northbound entry slip which will carry traffic onto the M56

A new round about which will join onto the existing roundabout via a bridge over the A556 will provide a southbound entry slip onto the A556 and the southbound exit slip form the A556/M56. The new roundabout will also provide access for Yarwoodheath Lane.

The map below should help better show the positioning of the new A556 alignment and the several bridge that will have to constructed to carry a number of roads either over or under the new dual carriageway. 

The weather remained wet for most of the day during my visit but luckily there were some gaps in the weather so that I could take some pictures. The weather hasn't hampered construction as the main earthworks were wound down over the winter months with work focusing on drainage and the construction of the bridge structures. 

Some earth works were taking place during my visit but the majority of the moxys (articulated dump trucks) had been stood down over the winter. It is clear from some some of the images below that operating the moxys in these wet conditions would of been difficult at best. 

Large pumps could be seen positioned around the main work sites to keep water out of areas were it was not wanted. 

One of the work sites at Old Hall Lane, facing north.

Looking south from the A50, the moxys stood down, a different sight to that witnessed in August when they were busy carrying earth over the A50 under traffic light control.

Looking north from the A50, some work continues but at a less frantic pace than back in the summer. 

Looking south from Millington Lane, the alignment for the A556 taking shape,

Work continues on the existing A556 to prepare the road for the new alignment and to strengthen the existing bridge which carries the A556 over the M56,

Work continuing on the construction of the new grade separated junction between the A556 and M56 

More information and update can be found on the Facebook page for the project

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