County Road, part of the historic A59, is a major gateway into the city centre from the north of Liverpool, passing Everton FC’s Goodison Park, before linking up to Aintree Racecourse and on to the motorway system.
The road, situated in the heart of Walton, was undergoing a £5.9m revamp until the original contractor – Viam, formerly Kings Construction – went into administration last summer.
After a tendering process, Liverpool City Council appointed a new contractor, Huyton Asphalt, in late October to finish the scheme, which included three upgraded crossings, a new toucan crossing and two new pedestrian crossings.
Following the city's annual Christmas embargo and a design review, works resumed at the end of February and, with just resurfacing of some side roads and road markings to do, the scheme is set to be completed on Friday (29 April).
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The completion comes just weeks after the council's Highways and Transportation team set out a new evidence-based approach using a mix of AI and photography to devise a multi-million pound programme that will improve more than 100 roads across the city over the next 12 months.
The £34.6 million highways improvement programme identified the roads in the worst condition. Following approval by Cabinet, the council will soon be issuing tenders for the schemes, many of which will involve road resurfacing works.
As soon as the County Road works finish, with night-time closures scheduled tomorrow and Thursday, contractors will move on to resurfacing nearby Walton Lane.
That scheme, which will operate under a 20mph limit for motorists, will begin on Tuesday, 3 May. Works there are expected to complete by the start of June and will require a number of full night-time road closures.
The County Road scheme, which has also seen bus priority introduced at two major junctions as well as 2km of road resurfacing, is a key element of a wider programme to upgrade the city’s highways network over the coming decade. It has received £3.5m from the Local Growth Fund (LGF) via the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF).
Local Growth Funding is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through its Strategic Investment Fund.
