What a year of roadworks means for your commute
CHANGES AT CITY CENTRE JUNCTIONS WILL HOPEFULLY BE WORTH WAIT
ROADWORKS at one of Manchester’s busiest junctions are causing misery for commuters.
A major project of works aimed at tackling some of the major bottlenecks on the city centre ring road got underway at the end of August.
This is causing extremely long delays, not just at peak time but at all hours of the day, with scores of drivers complaining it is sometimes taking over an hour to travel just a mile or so. And the pain is set to go with on for several more months.
What work is being done?
The £15m project involves improvements at a number of junctions of what is officially known as the Manchester and Salford Inner Relief Route, the ring road around the city centre. The first phase will see work done at four junctions:
■ Dawson Street, Regent Road, Trinity Way and Water Street
Once finished there will be three lanes in each direction on Regent Road between Water Street and Ordsall Lane and three lanes which turn from Dawson Street into Regent Road towards Salford.
There will also be new crossing for pedestrians and cyclists, with the crossing on Regent Road being moved closer to the junction.
■ The Mancunian Way (A56, A5067) roundabout
A number of new lanes are to be created including: Two extra lanes on the roundabout between Chorlton Road and Chester Road, one of these will provide a new right turn onto the A56 towards Deansgate; an extra lane between the Mancunian Way and Chester Road towards Deansgate which will provide a right turn onto the A56 towards Chester Road; and an extra lane between the Mancunian Way and Chorlton Road.
There will also be larger islands on Chester Road which planners say will create better routes for pedestrians and cyclists through the junction
■ The junction of Regent Road and Ordsall Lane (Salford)
Creation of more lanes or space along the section of Regent Road going towards Salford as well as new pedestrian and cyclist crossings.
■ The junction of Regent Road and Oldfield Road (Salford)
Left turns will be prevented from Regent Road into Oldfield Road towards Ordsall Lane.
The junction layout will also be amended and signal timings will be changed to help improve the flow of traffic.
A second phase of work will then see work carried out at two further junctions in Salford:
■ The junction of Trinity Way and Hampson Street What’s there now will be replaced with new crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.
■ The junction of Hampson Street, East Ordsall Lane and Middlewood Street There will be new crossings and an upgrade to the ones that are already there. There will also be new turns, central reservations, cycle ways and footpaths on Middlewood Street in both directions to improve access to new development on Middlewood Locks.
How will it affect my journey?
During the morning rush hour, travel into the city centre via the M602, Regent Road and on to the Mancunian Way is expected to increase from around 15-20 minutes to at least 25-30 minutes. During the evening peak, journeys out of the city centre along the Mancunian Way, Regent Road and on to the M602 are expected to increase from around 20-25 minutes to at least 40-45 minutes.
However, drivers have reported these delays to often be much longer.
It’s expected to take just under half an hour to drive from J7 of the M60 for Stretford into the city centre, via Chester Road outside of rush hour.
During the morning rush hour, it was has been taking around 45 minutes. Meanwhile, drivers coming from Oldham Road and Rochdale Road can expect it to take around 25 and 20 minutes respectively to cross the city if using the Mancunian Way.
When will it be finished?
The work began on August 29 and is currently scheduled to take a year to complete.