Report due on M56 chevrons problem
HIGHWAYS England has revealed that it has carried out study into the potential impact of chevrons on the road surface on a notorious stretch of the M56 between Runcorn and Helsby.
An email sent to former civil engineer and councillor Mike Hodgkinson, seen by the Weekly News, said the agency was expecting to have evaluated a draft report by the end of August.
Dave Dickinson, Highways England asset manager, said the video study has examined the chevrons’ potential impact on the eastbound carriageway.
Mr Dickinson also revealed that the organisation is working with other agencies to create a ‘strategic diversion plan’.
He said the initiative is being led by Highways England and includes ‘a robust strategy for offering alternative emergency routes on the local network to minimise journey time delays’.
A third scheme is in the works, with the agency’s asset support contractor Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald investigating options for ‘low-cost CCTV’ on this section of motorway.
Mr Dickinson said the feasibility report is due to be completed by mid-October.
He also revealed that the number of casualties on the M56 eastbound between junctions 12 and 14 had increased in 2013-14 but fallen on the westbound since 2011.
Details of the projects were revealed after Mr Hodgkinson, a Runcorn resident and former Halton mayor, wrote to Highways England urging it to install overhead gantry signs that could be upgraded to a smart motorway.
He told Highways England that few ‘significant’ upgrades had been made to the route since it was installed 50 years ago, and said that it had greater need for safety than the M56 near Manchester because of the larger amount heavy goods and petrochemical vehicles using the route.
Mr Dickinson said the route is to be considered for future upgrades in the next Road Investment Strategy period, 2021-26.
He said: “The way we plan future investment in our road network is through our evidence-based route strategy process.
“As part of this process we have identified this section of the M56 as a location to be considered for future investment.
“A decision on areas to be studied is expected later this calendar year.
“If this section of route is to be included in the priority study list, the next stage will be to consider potential improvement options.
“If a decision is made to proceed with a scheme, it would be delivered during the next Road Investment Strategy period, 2021-2026.
“Whilst a solution is not yet known, it is likely that overhead gantries will be considered amongst options.”
Discussing the relative risk presented by the junctions 12-14 stretch, he said: “The number of personal injury collisions (PIC) on the eastbound carriageway has increased in 2013 and 2014.
“For 2011-13 the eastbound carriageway is ranked 86th highest out of 310 links – defined as a junction-to-junction link on the strategic road network (SRN) – in Area 10, which includes Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and south Lancashire, for PIC rate, suggesting that it is not one of the most severe links in the area.
“In the North West, the link ranks 125th out of 412 and nationally it ranks 1,108th out of 2,497 links in the entire SRN (2011-2013).
“The number of personal injury collisions on the westbound carriageway fell from 2011 and has stayed relatively static since.” For more articles on the M56 follow the Weekly News #SickOfTheM56 campaign in print and on Twitter. Councillor Mike Hodgkinson