Re-blog: Improving links between North West England and North Wales

A version of this article was published in Rail Magazine in December 2021

As someone who lives on the Wirral and frequently travels to North Wales via the A494 through Queensferry, and has been a committee member of the Wrexham-Bidston Rail User's Association for a number of years, I'm well aware of current poor transport connections between North West England and North Wales. The bridge which carries the A494 over the River Dee and on to the A55 was used by 60,000 vehicles a day before the Pandemic. So, knowing how busy the A494 can get, particularly during school holidays and on Fridays before bank holidays when people flock to North Wales, I supported a proposal to build a new link road from the A548 Flintshire bridge to the A55, a proposal known as the "Red Route".

You may be wondering what if anything roads have to do with railways? Well, recently my support for the "Red Route" has started to wane, especially as awareness of the climate emergency has grown. However despite the pandemic, the A494 often still gets incredibly congested and in 2020 particularly with many people holidaying in the UK, it seemed as if the A494/A55 was busier than ever. Even so, the Welsh Government may be right to cancel the "Red Route". But it does beg the question, how are the aims of the Union connectivity review which was published in December 2021 going to be delivered if not by upgrading road connections? The report led by Sir Peter Hendy sought to identify ways of improving connectivity between the 4 UK nations and recommended that the Westminster works “with the Welsh Government to undertake a multimodal review of the North Wales transport corridor”

The four-lane bridge which carries the A494 over the River Dee is set to be replaced, with work due to begin in 2024/25 and as the proposal falls under renewals is not subject to the same environmental review as the Red Route. The bridge replacement will see an additional lane in each direction added to the A494 which may relieve congestion in the short term. However, the only long-term solution to improve links would be to build the new link road to the A55.

Map showing the road and rail links between England and North Wales

If new roads aren't the answer then the only other alternative is to improve rail links between the two nations, which are the North Wales Coast Line, the Wrexham-Bidston (Borderlands) Line and Shrewsbury-Chester Line. The latter was recently partially re-double between Chester and Wrexham General, however, the Wrexham-Bidston and North Wales Coast Line are in dire need of upgrades and are currently underutilised. The hourly Transport for Wales service from Manchester to North Wales is often crowded and fares are relatively expensive, also the hourly service on the Borderlands Line isn't viewed as a reliable means of travelling between North East Wales and Liverpool.

North Wales Coast services will be given a boost in December 2023 when TfW plans to introduce an hourly Liverpool to Llandudno service which will use new Class 197 DMUs that are now being introduced. The CAF-built units are being introduced on TfW's long-distance service, such as Manchester to Llandudno Junction and Manchester to South Wales. The introduction of Class 197s and rakes of Mk4 carriages will allow TfW to operate five-car trains between Manchester and South Wales, but TfW is yet to decide if the new stock will allow the operator to improve capacity between Manchester and North Wales. If passengers travelling between Manchester and North Wales are to benefit from the introduction of new units then TfW must operate more four-car (2x2) or three-car services as a minimum. Even in this post-pandemic era, operating two-car trains between Manchester and North Wales is simply unacceptable.

Class 197 002 on display at Chester Station

TfW also plan to introduce a new Liverpool to Shrewsbury via Wrexham General service from December 2024, which will be extended to Cardiff every two hours. The Liverpool to Shrewsbury will be an extension of the current Liverpool to Chester via Halton Curve service and be coupled to the Llandudno service as far as Chester, where the two units will split, with one unit going to Llandudno, whilst the other travels to Shrewsbury/Cardiff. The Llandudno service is set to begin in December this year (2023), whilst the Shrewsbury/Cardiff service isn't due to commence until December 2024 and is subject to capacity improvements being completed between Wrexham and Shrewsbury.

As well as improved connectivity between Liverpool and North Wales the new service to Llandudno will also improve connectivity at Shotton, as currently, only one North Wales Coast service per hour calls at Shotton low-level and one Borderlands Line train per hour calls at high-level. With two trains per hour calling at both high-level and low-level the interchange possibilities between the two lines will be vastly improved.

Whilst the Borderlands line isn't currently viewed as a reliable means to travel between Liverpool and NE Wales, the line will hopefully see improvements as the delayed increase in the frequency of the service from one, to two trains per hour is finally set to begin this year. Thankfully the ORR has settled the dispute between TfW who wanted to increase the frequency and GBRf who wanted more freight paths into the cement works at Padeswood. However, a proposed compromise will see gaps in the half-hourly service during the day to allow freight movements into and out of Padeswood. 

The only thing holding up the half-hourly service now is the entry into service of the much-delayed Class 230s, which have been dogged by technical issues, the Pandemic and last year the unit's manufacturer going into administration. However, TfW who owns the Class 230s seems to have come to an agreement regarding maintenance and Class 230s which have once again started driver training on the line. In addition to the gaps during the day, the additional service will be a skip-stop service and will cut out a number of stations between Gwersyllt and Shotton. This isn't to do with freight however, but based on concerns about hitting a specific reliability target, as the turnaround of the current service is already very tight.

The interior of Class 230 which was converted from redundant D78 stock

In the long term groups such as the WBRUA and Growth Track 360 would like to see four trains per hour operating from Wrexham directly through into Liverpool and if the trial of the battery variant of the Class 777 is successful, then this may be a real possibility. This could be quite expensive, as it would require additional infrastructure, such as rapid charging via 3rd rail at the Wrexham end of the line, the installation of additional block sections, particularly between Penyffordd and Dee Marsh and of course additional battery Class 777s IPEMUs (independently powered electrical multiple units) to be ordered.

Class 777 002 on display at Rail Live

Providing additional capacity is one thing, but fare prices may also be a barrier for many people and there does seem to be a disparity between the cost of fares offered by TfW and other TOCs, and between North and South Wales. In 2019 a BBC investigation found that it cost 41p per mile to travel from Flint to Bangor, in contrast, it cost just 27p per mile to travel from Swansea to Cardiff Central. I believe strongly that somehow prices need to be reduced and simplified for passengers travelling between NW England and N Wales in order to drive any meaningful modal shift from road to rail.

Returning to the UCR, the document itself seems to be lacking in detail and there doesn't appear to be any concrete plans for improving cross-border links, instead, it suggests that Westminster and the Welsh Government should investigate ways of improving connectivity. Very little attention is given to freight but does recognise the importance of the M56, A494 and A55 and the link they provide to the port of Holyhead, which moved 5.3 million tonnes of freight and 1.9 people between the mainland and Dublin in 2019.

Brexit will undoubtedly continue to have an impact on EU freight travelling between ports in the east of England to Dublin via Holyhead, but the port will remain an important and heavily used link between the mainland and Ireland. In my view, the DfT should explore options for providing container handling facilities near to the port to reduce HGV traffic travelling from England to Holyhead. That way at least freight could be transported to Holyhead by rail and then transferred to HGVs which can then be loaded onto ferry services. Building a container port at Holyhead would possibly be a better solution, but ultimately not easily achievable.

One thing is clear if more capacity is to be provided for passenger and freight services then the North Wales Mainline should be electrified and signalling upgraded. It's unlikely that there would be much capacity for additional services beyond those already proposed by TfW and Avanti. Electrification also provides the potential for HS2 classic compatible services to use the North Wales Coast Line, rather than the current proposals which would see passengers from North Wales having to change trains at Crewe to access HS2 services heading to the capital. Although it should be pointed out that even with the interchange at Crewe passengers from North Wales could still see a significant reduction in journey times for N Wales to London when compared to direct services via the WCML.

It does finally appear as if improved rail links between NW England and N Wales are on the horizon, but I do not believe the current pipeline of improvements on their own will be enough to have any meaningful impact on thousands of daily trips made by car between the two nations. I believe that much more investment will be needed to further improve rail links combined with a review of fares to try to simplify and bring down the costs in order to drive the considerable shift from road to rail that is needed if the UK is to achieve its net-zero goals.

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Mersey Gateway, 3 years on

The Mersey Gateway opened in October 2017 providing improved links from the M56 and Runcorn across the Mersey to Widnes and on to Liverpool. The £600m project which took 3 years to complete, comprised of a new 6 lane cable-stayed bridge spanning the river Mersey and substantial upgrades to the A553 which runs through Runcorn connecting the M56 to the new bridge.

The new crossing received a mixed reaction from locals and motorists when it first opened, as for the first since the Silver Jubilee Bridge opened, motorists would have to pay to cross the Mersey from Runcorn to Widnes. There were also teething problems with the barrier-less toll system. People complained that signage warning people that they must pay online to use the bridge was poor, this in part lead to almost £20m worth of fines being issued within the first 20 months of operation. 

Mersey Gateway bridge viewed from Wigg Island in Runcorn

Other problems occurred with people using rental vehicles, who thought they were paying for their crossing, but had in fact paid for crossings made by another person who had previous used the same vehicle.

Many people simply just forgot about the toll and missed the 11:59pm day after deadline, which if you miss generates a £20 fine + £2 toll charge in each direction. This fine increases steeply if you do not pay within 14 days.

Residents who live in Halton can apply for a residents pass, at a cost of £10 per year, which allows for unlimited crossings at no extra charge. And regular users can also create an account online which can be topped up and provides users with as much as a 10% discount for each crossing, depending on if they choose to use the sticker option or not. In December 2019 Emovis Operations which operates the toll system released an app which has made it easier for users to keep track of and pay for crossings.

View of the bridge from below the viaduct carrying traffic from the A533 to the bridge

Despite the teething troubles and an ongoing campaign to remove the toll, the bridge had up until the outbreak of Covid19, been a success, carrying 67,000 vehicles each day between October and November 2019. It had also reduced congestion, particularly on A557 Weston Point Expressway, which regularly saw queues of 10 minutes or more.

Mersey Gateway in numbers

• Bridge length 2.1km
• Tallest supporting pylon 125m
• 146 stay cables
• Longest single span 318m
• Carrying as many as 67,000 vehicles a day (pre-Covid)
• Cost £600m

Even if you do not consider the number of vehicles using the bridge to be a measure of success, the new bridge is a local landmark comparable to the existing and iconic Silver Jubilee Bridge. Its 3 tall concrete pylons support a relatively slender deck via 146 stay cables, and yet, whilst the tallest of the 3 concrete pylons reaches 125m high, the bridge itself manages to compliment rather than overshadow the existing road and rail bridges.

Speaking of the existing bridge, it had reached its design capacity some decades ago and was in need of urgent repairs, this despite recent extensive works to repair the road and deck and repaint the distinctive steel arch structure. The fact is, the bridge simply wasn't designed to carry the volume of traffic which crossed the bridge each day. The original plan was to close the bridge for up to a year once the new crossing had opened to carry out repairs and convert 1 lane in each direction to cycling and pedestrian provision. 

 

The iconic Silver Jubilee Bridge has been part of Runcorn's skyline for over 50 years

In the end, the Silver Jubilee bridge didn't fully reopen until February 2021. This was, in part due to changes to the proposals made by Halton Borough council. They wanted the bridge to integrate better with the town centre in order to tie in with the redevelopment plans they have. Under the original plans, the bridge would have been accessible by cyclists and pedestrians, but would have been less well connected to the town centre. Road access would have been maintained to the A557 via the existing junction arrangement. Instead, the grade separated junction that connected the A557 to the bridge has been replaced by a single at-grade roundabout. 

 

The new roundabout connecting the A557 to the SJ Bridge

The Silver Jubilee Bridge is once again open to vehicle traffic and is now tolled, costing £2 to cross. This arrangement wasn't without its critics, but it does seem to be the only logical approach. Keeping the existing bridge free to motorists would of course encourage people to use the bridge instead of the new crossing, despite the journey time over the existing bridge being much longer, which would have been compounded by increased congestion as people attempted to avoid the tolls. 

Video trip across the Mersey Gateway bridge from Widnes along the A533 through Runcorn to the M56.

Speaking as someone who infrequently uses the bridge, it would have been nice if the bridge were free to cross, as it is now nigh on impossible to get from West Cheshire or the Wirral to Liverpool without paying a toll. If you really wanted to avoid paying the toll to use the Mersey Gateway bridge, the only option would be a 10-mile detour via the congested roads of Warrington town centre. To avoid paying £1.80 to use either of the Mersey tunnels would entail a detour of 30 miles.

Having said that, I do appreciate that the £600m project had to be funded somehow, and the government seemed unwilling at the time to fund the construction of a new crossing. This despite tolls being removed from the Severn crossings in 2018 and around the same time the Scottish Government funding a new £1bn bridge across the Firth of Forth, which is also toll-free.

But in the end, a new and in my opinion attractive bridge has been constructed which people in the region will continue to feel the benefits of for years to come.

Want to know more? You can find out about how the bridge was constructed in the series of blogs I wrote as I was following the project. Click here to find out more.

 

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A494 Dee bridge renewal

The A494 at the point where is crosses the River Dee carries over 60,000 vehicles per day and is a vital link which connects North West England with North Wales. It also forms part of the TEN-T European transport network, linking ports to the East of England with the port of Holyhead. The road also provides employees who live in North Wales access to the Deeside Industrial Park, which is to the east of the River Dee.

The video below gives an overview of the A494 from the junction with the A540, located to the west of the M56 (where the M56 becomes the A494), across the Dee bridge to Queensferry.

The bridge over the River Dee was constructed in the 1960s and carries almost double the number of vehicles that it was designed for, this has lead, according to the Welsh Government to “deterioration to some structural features”[1]. Therefore in 2018 it was announced that the bridge was to be renewed, with a public consultation held during summer 2018 which outlined the proposals.

A494 Dee bridge

As an important link carrying 60k vehicles per day it is vital that the A494 remains open, closing the section of road simply isn't option. So the Welsh Government working with the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency appointed Mott MacDonald and their partners Richards, Morehead & Laing to consider options for the replacement of the bridge.

The final proposal which was put to the public for consultation will see the construction of an all new 4 lane bridge crossing the River Dee to the south of the existing A494 bridge. Once the new bridge is complete, engineers will begin to remove and then replace the deck of the existing bridge. Once complete the 2 bridges will provide 3 lanes, plus a hard shoulder in each direction. The additional lane will provide entry and exit from the A548 and Queensferry junctions, this will give drivers more time to merge onto or leave the A494 and help to remove a current pinch point.

A494 Dee bridge proposal [click to enlarge]

The alignment of the A494 on east side of the river had already been altered in 2004 as part of the A494 “Drome Corner” upgrade undertaken by Highways England. The alignment change was to allow for an increased number of lanes which would have crossed the River Dee and continued up Aston Hill to the junction with the A55. However after strong opposition from local residents the plans to widen the A494 were cancelled by the Welsh Government in 2007.

The proposals for the new bridge will make use of the altered alignment with the bridge built to the south of the existing bridge. A new section of road will also be constructed west from the new bridge, underneath the Chester to North Wales railway, ending at the junction for Queensferry. Once complete the new bridge and re-decked existing bridge will provide additional benefits for motorists, by providing the 3rd lane and by providing a hard shoulder for motorist should they get into difficulty whilst travelling on that section of the A494.

Building a new bridge was, in reality the only viable option. The construction of the existing bridge is such that it is not possible to work on either side of the carriageway at a time, whilst trying to keep at least 1 lane of traffic open in each direction. Also the idea of keeping only 1 live lane open in each direction would have been unthinkable, given the volume of traffic that currently use the crossing.

Dee bridge from underneath

Building a new 4 lane bridge allows for 2 lanes of traffic in each direction to continue to cross the River Dee while work is carried out on the existing bridge. It also makes sense to retain and re-deck the exiting bridge, which apart from the deck is still structurally sound. Putting both sets of work into a single package will allow, not only for the renewal of the bridge but an upgrade of the crossing, which should in itself help to improve the business case for the proposal as a whole.

Work is expected to begin during summer/autumn 2020, subject to Minister's approval. I wasn't able to find out if a completion date has been set, however I would estimate a project of this scale would take at least 18 months, possibly up to 30 months to complete.

It is unfortunate that the urgency of the work means that it will have to take place before work commences on the so called “Red Route”, which will see much of the traffic that currently uses the A494 Dee crossing using a new route. The Red route will make use of the exiting A548, the Flintshire Bridge which was constructed 1998 and a new section of road linking the A548 at Connah's Quay to the A55 close to Pentre Halkyn. Work on this £250m proposal is not due to commence until 2025, subject to approval from Welsh Government.



[1] https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/consultations/2018-11/consultation-document.pdf

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Halton Curve passenger services commence

Today marks the official launch of direct rail services between Wrexham General and Liverpool Lime St via Liverpool South Parkway, the first direct rail link between North Wales and Liverpool since the mid 1970s. From today there will be 1 outbound service from Wrexham General per day departing at 06:35 and 2 return services departing Liverpool Lime St at 17:37 and 20:14. The service is in addition to the new hourly service which will depart from Chester. The service departing from Chester will call at Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn, Liverpool South Parkway (for Liverpool Airport) and Liverpool Lime St, with a journey time from Chester of around 55 minutes.

Services between Chester and Liverpool Lime St actually began on Sunday (18th May 2019), which is when I took my first trip over Halton Curve. I picked up the service at Frodsham as I had some shots I wanted to capture in Runcorn upon my return. The trip out was on a humble class 150, but with new seating, disabled access toilet and charging points it wasn't bad at all. The return was made aboard a class 158 in smart Transport for Wales Rail colours and was a bit of a step up from the 150. I'm not sure if the 158 will remain on the route, or if it will be worked solely by 150s once attention from the press has gone.

Class 150 upon arrival at Liverpool Lime St [click to enlage]

One passenger I spoke to was under the impression that the route was to be operated by new trains, but that is not to be unfortunately. I'm not sure which units will operate on the service once the new trains being built by CAF are delivered. However what I am sure of is that no matter what train serves the route, passengers are happy to finally be able to get to Liverpool from Helsby and Frodsham by train, without having to drive to Runcorn, Ellesmere Port, or even Hooton.

Class 158 at Liverpool Lime St

 
Below is a short video montage I put together with some clips of the highlights of the trip.

It is hoped that the new service will remove some traffic from the often congested M56 which connects Chester and West Cheshire to the M6 and Manchester. The service will increase the number of services between Frodsham, Helsby and Chester from just 1 to 2 trains per hour. The service will also provide improved links between Chester and Liverpool Airport which can be accessed via a regular bus service from Liverpool South Parkway.

The new service between North Wales and Liverpool has been made possible thanks to an £18m upgrade of Halton Curve and recent improvements made to Liverpool Lime St. The funding was part of a larger £340m package of upgrades that took place across the Liverpool City Region.

Regular passenger services had operated over Halton Curve up until the mid 1970s, when, despite avoiding cuts made by Beaching, services were withdrawn. Then in 1994 the 2.4km double track line was reduced to a single track, and at the same time the points which allowed south bound trains to use the line were also removed in a bid to reduce costs of maintaining the Liverpool branch of the WCML. Since then the only service which had used the line was a single Parliamentary train each Saturday during Summer, between Chester and Liverpool, operated by Northern.

TfW class 158 travelling over Halton Curve on route to Liverpool

 

The North Cheshire Rail Users Group, which represents passengers using services on the Manchester-Chester line (part of The Birkenhead Railway) had been campaigning tirelessly for over 20 years to re-instate Halton curve, and in April 2016 their hard work finally paid off, when it was announced that the junction on the WCML would be re-instated, allowing bi-directional traffic to use the line once more.

On the 14th of July 2017 work began to upgrade a short 2.4km section of railway, which involved installing a new crossover and 60km/h turnout on WCML. In addition signalling was also upgraded on the WCML, with control transferred from Halton to Manchester Rail Operating Centre . Work was also carried out to re-signal the Frodsham area and fit a new modern signalling panel at Frodsham Signal box

Halton Curve route map

Details of the signal upgrades are as follows. (source NCRUG)

• New relay based interlocking and re-signalling of existing Frodsham control area with LED colour light signals and train detection provided by track circuits;

• Revised signalling arrangements at Frodsham/Halton/MROC to accommodate the bidirectional signalling using TCB

• Retain the existing method of Absolute Block Working from Frodsham to Helsby Junction and Norton Signal Boxes 

• Replace the existing mechanical lever frame at Frodsham and replace with an Independent Function Switch (IFS) panel; and • Install OLE overrun protection from Halton Junction.

The upgrade was actually completed in time for the timetable change in December 2018, however due to the lack of available DMU stock passengers have had to wait until now (May 2019) for the new service to commence. But now (finally) passengers can travel direct from North Wales to Liverpool and it is hoped that eventually in the future there will be more services will between North Wales to Liverpool. There is also talk of a Liverpool to Cardiff service which will also use Halton Curve.

It would seem that after the disaster that was the December 2018 timetable change, that passengers are finally starting to see the benefits of years of engineering works and the introduction of new and cascaded rolling stock.

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Manchester Airport Expansion

A £1bn project officially known as the 'Manchester Airport Transformation Programme' (MAN-TP for short) began in July 2017 and since then significant progress has been made. The project will increase passenger capacity by doubling the size of the existing Terminal 2 and vastly improve airport facilities. 3 new piers will be constructed in total with prevision for an additional 4th if required in the future. Airside capacity will also be improved with major changes to the apron and taxiways.

In under 12 months a large area for new structures has been cleared and large sections of the terminal extension and new carpark have been constructed. 6 tower cranes (pictured below) have dominated the Manchester Airport skyline since early 2018. The tightly clustered cranes have been used to lift sections of steel and concrete into place to construct a new carpark which looks to be almost 80% complete.

Significant changes have been made to the passenger drop off and pick-up facilities at terminal 2 in order for work to commence. This includes moving the drop off zone to the ground level and closing off part of the ground level pick-up car park in order to provide parking for staff members. In April 2018 photos were released showing the view from one of the new piers looking through huge glass windows which look out over the airfield.

The terminal is set for completion in 2020 and it is hoped that major "noticeable" changes will take place in 2019. Once the extension is complete, terminal 2 will become the principal terminal with terminal 1 being phased out around 2022 and then later demolished. The entire project including construction of new roads, access ramps and demolition of T1 should be complete by 2023.


The principal contractor for the project Laing O’Rourke is delivering a £570m package of works, including the design and construction of the new T2 extension and the construction of the new 3,800 space multi-story car park. Laing O’Rourke will also undertake significant upgrades to the airport’s landscape and road infrastructure and will construct the initial two new piers for arrivals and departures.

Galliford Try was awarded to contracts totaling £92m, the first £38m phase is to extend the airfield’s west apron which includes construction of new taxiways and aircraft stands. The second £54m phase will increase aircraft stand capacity and aircraft parking. A new ‘Dual E’ taxiway will allow two aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and a Boeing 747 safely to pass each other.

Galliford Try will install more than 79,000m3 of concrete for new taxiways and aircraft stands, they will also reallocating the existing airfield and upgrade a mile-long section of taxiway so that aircraft can be maneuvered more efficiently.


Facts and figures

• £1bn - Total investment

• 900,000 sq ft of additional space to be added to Terminal 2

• 19th busiest airport in Europe 

• 50 food, beverage and retail outlets to be introduced

• 3 new piers to be constructed with space and services available to construct a 4th if needed

• 2023 - Project expected completion date

• 1962 - The date the original terminal 1 building was constructed

• 28m - The number of passengers currently using the airport annually

For more information click here

I hope to be able to provide updates as the project progresses

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A494 to A55 improvement proposals (part 1)

[Update 26/09/17]

"Economy Secretary Ken Skates has today announced the red route as the preferred option for the £250m Deeside corridor scheme." View the full statement at www.gov.wales

Background 

After a decade of delay the Welsh Government looks set to finally make a decision on how best to improve a vital link between England and Wales. The A494 - A55 link is one of the busiest border crossings between England and Wales, with the 2 lane A494 at the point where it crosses the River Dee alone carrying almost as many vehicles as the 3 lane M4 Second Severn Crossing [1][2]

The first plans to improve the link were put forward in 2007 by which time houses had already been compulsorily purchased and to this day many remain empty. The original proposal was for a 7 lane highway consisting of 4 southbound lanes (heading toward Wales), 3 northbound lanes (heading towards England) with hard shoulders and connector distributor roads either side. It was also proposed that the speed limit would be increased from 50mph to 70mph.

Existing A494 at the point where it crosses the River Dee

Just as the proposal looked to go ahead and with the majority of the land already in government hands the plans were scrapped after fierce public opposition. It was said the proposal which in places would be 11 lanes wide were excessive and disrupted too many people. It was claimed that 5000 people would be adversely affected.

The decision to cancel the proposal as it stood at the time may have had merit, unfortunately though the Welsh Government were slow to come up with an alternative and in the proceeding 10 years traffic levels have increased and congestion between the A494 and A55 has worsened, especial during holiday periods.

New proposals

Two proposals have been put forward by the Welsh Government, one known as the Blue option an adaptation of the original proposal to widen the A494 and upgrade junctions including the  A494/A55 interchange.

The other proposal known as the Red option would bypass a large section of the A494 and the A494/A55 interchange. This would be achieved with the construction of a new section of dual carriageway between Flintshire bridge and the A55 close to junction 33 near to Northop. The flat junctions along the A548 which links A494 to Flintshire bridge would also be grade separated.

Proposed Red and Blue options (source  Deeside Corridor improvement study)

The public consultation for both proposals ended on the 30th of June 2017 with the preferred route expected to be announced this summer. However the Welsh government has already signalled that it prefers the second opinion or what is known as the Red Option. Both options would have a budget of around £200m, however the Red option promises a better benefit to cost ratio and improved journey times.

The A548 Flintshire Bridge

On a more symbolic note, the Red option would see the realisation of a long talked about link from Flintshire bridge which for the last two decades has been known locally as "the bridge to nowhere" to the A55.


The consultation document can still be found here.


Part 2 of the blog descibes the Red option in more detail

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Mersey Gateway Project (Spring 2017 update)

The Mersey Gateway project has now been under construction for almost 3 years and is due to be completed on time later this year.  The bridge itself is taking shape and on the 10th of March (2017) construction of the bridge deck had reached the half way mark.

The cable stayed bridge spans have been inching out across the Mersey since Autumn 2016, with 6 bridge sections being built simultaneously. Each of the 3 bridge pylons supports 2 'form travellers' which act as giant moulds into which concrete is poured.

The image below shows a close up of one of the form travellers making its way out across the River Mersey. The traveller rests on the previously constructed bridge section, the main form then extends out over the river.  Before the concrete for each new section can be poured the form is fitted out with steel rebar, an internal form to create a hollow cavity within the bridge and an anchor point on to which the stay cable will attached.

Once the stay cable is attached from the pylon to the anchor point the concrete to form the new bridge section can be poured. The total length of the main bridge span will eventually be 1000 metres in length.

The bridge will be supported by 146 stay cables connected to the 3 pylons with each cable containing 91 individual steel stands encased in a protective outer casing. In total 810 miles of steel strands will be required to support the 53,000 tonne structure. 

The images below shows progress on the bridge as of March 2017.

Southern pylon (Runcorn)

Central pylon

Northern pylon (Widnes)

View of all 3 pylons and deck spanning the River Mersey (click to enlarge)

The approach viaducts to the main bridge are also progressing well, MSS (Movable Scaffold System) Trinity which was being used to construct the approach viaduct on the Widnes side of the river is now in the process of being dismantled. The 'wing traveller' which is being used to widen the viaduct to final width was approaching the final span in March 2017.

Meanwhile on the Runcorn side of the Mersey MSS Webster which crossed the Manchester Ship Canal in December 2016 has almost completed construction of the southern approach viaduct. 

Wing traveller working its way across the northern approach viaduct

MSS Webster continues work on the southern viaduct

Another key milestone was reached on the 29th of March this year (2017) when the final beam was installed on the Astmoor Bridgewater Viaduct, which in itself is a massive feat of engineering. The image below taken in August 2016 shows the scale of the viaduct under construction at Astmoor. 

Work on the existing road connections is progressing well with key elements already complete such as the new roundabout for the M56. I will update on the progress of the road connections in the coming months prior to completion which is still set for Autumn this year (2017)

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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.