WORK is to start on creating a new dual carriageway for a major route into Liverpool City Centre, on Monday, 12 June 2017.  National contractor Osborne is to begin widening the A565 (Great Howard Street/Derby Road) as part of a £22m road improvement scheme.  The 1st Phase of the works will be at the prime City Centre junction of Leeds Street and King Edward Street and will require off peak lane closures between:- 9.30am to 3.30pm and 7pm to 6am. To minimise disruption 2 lanes will be kept open at peak times.

During off peak times, the junction may be reduced to single lane running and motorists heading north and east out of the City Centre, from The Strand, are advised to expect extended journey times and consider using alternative routes. This part of the project is expected to be completed by Winter 2017.

At the same time, work will begin to widen Great Howard Street with 1 lane of the Northbound carriageway heading to Bootle closed from Oil Street to Blackstone Street.

These works will take advantage of the current road closure where the Great Howard Street bridge is being replaced as part of a £10m project that will enable freight to travel to and from the new £400m Liverpool2 Deep Water Container Terminal, which is part of Peel Land and Trust's £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme. The bridge is expected to complete in August and will see the road re-open.

The dualling works will require a permanent Northbound Lane restriction which will then move to the southbound side as the scheme progresses. This element of the project is anticipated to be completed by Spring 2018.

Upgrading the route, which handles traffic between Sefton and Liverpool along the Northern Docks, is a key element of a £100m regeneration drive in North Liverpool.

The new 2.7km long stretch in the City's Atlantic Corridor is seen as crucial to a new creative district, within the area called:- '10 Streets' and will have spin off benefits for Everton FC's proposed new Stadium, on the nearby Bramley Moore Dock.

The new dual carriageway, part funded by the Liverpool City Region Growth Deal, will also pave the way for a major revamp of the historic Regent Road; aka:- "the Dock Road" to make that more pedestrian and bike friendly, creating a continuous cycle route from Crosby to Liverpool.

The new dual carriageway, which includes:- improved paving, traffic signals and street lighting. 

This work will be complete in 4 Phases, as follows:-

►    Phase 1:- Leeds Street to Blackstone Street; Road widening phase (completed by spring 2018)

►    Phase 2:- Bankhall Street to Millers Bridge; Road widening phase (starting October 2017)

►    Phase 3:- Regent Road from Paisley Street to Nelson Street; New pavement/Resurfacing and cycleway provision phase (starting late October 2017)

►    Phase 4:- Boundary Street to Everton View; Upgrade of Traffic Signalised junctions and Street lighting with associated resurfacing (starting spring 2018)

Expected to finish by Summer 2019, the works are part of Liverpool City Council's wider £250m Better Roads Programme, that is aimed ay improving the City's road infrastructure and will be complemented by the creation of 2 new £20m waterfront link roads, at the City Centre end of the A565, which is being built to support a proposed new Cruise passenger facility.

Councillor Steve Munby, Liverpool's Cabinet Member for highways, said:- "Work on making the A565 a full dual carriageway is absolutely essential to the future economic success of the City. Once complete it will benefit millions of journeys every year and will stimulate the renaissance in the Atlantic Corridor. The scheme will give Regent Road a completely new lease of life, benefiting our plans for the 10 Streets creativity zone, as well as Everton FC's proposals for a new Stadium."

John Dowsett, Managing Director - Infrastructure at Osborne, said:- "Starting these works is highly significant to us and we look forward to helping to improve the infrastructure for Liverpool's City Centre. This sees us working with forward thinking local authorities who recognize the collaborative approach we bring."

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Disabled 9  year old needs your help

9 year old Liam Kost from Garston in Liverpool has a degenerative condition that affects his muscles. He needs a specialist wheelchair to maintain his independence and health; and a leading children's disability charity is calling on:- ‘local heroes' to help make this happen.  If you would like to support Liam, go to the Newlife website and click on the Donate button next to his story. The equipment costs:- £4,518. Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children is the UK's largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness and has supported 631 under 19's across Merseyside.

Liam has the life limiting condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which is gradually affecting his ability to walk and move. He is still able to take a few steps around the family home, but needs a wheelchair to mobilise outdoors and at School. He currently has a manual chair, but Liam can't self propel this; because it is too heavy; and has to rely on family, friends and school staff to push him around, which means he misses out on a lot of fun. It also means he isn't exercising his arms and chest muscles.

Local wheelchair services have offered Liam a fully powered wheelchair, but his physiotherapist and care adviser at Alderhey Hospital are both concerned that this would have a negative impact. Mum Manuela Kost said:- "It is important to Liam's overall health that he remains as active as possible for as long as possible. What he really needs is a power assisted self propelling wheelchair. He would have to use his arms to get it going, but the power assist feature would help him get around. It means he could play independently with his friends in the School Playground and at home, but still be getting health benefits. Unfortunately, this equipment is not available locally. Having this sort of wheelchair would really boost Liam's independence. It would also mean we could all go out and about more as a family; it is very tiring pushing him over long distances, partly because of the weight of the wheelchair, but he is quite a big boy because he is taking part in hospital steroid trials for his condition."

The cost of the equipment:- £4,518; prompted the Kost family to turn to Newlife for help. However, with UK wide statutory funding cuts resulting in a 64% increase in applications to Newlife over the past 5 years, the charity is more reliant on public support than at any time in its 25 year history.

So Newlife is looking for ‘local heroes' to help fund this vital equipment. You can click on the website or alternatively, contact the Newlife Supporter Relations Team on:- 01543 462777 or send an email.   Any money raised over and above what is needed for Liam will be used to provide specialist equipment for other disabled and terminally ill children on Merseyside. The charity is currently working with a total of 34 families in the area with equipment needs totalling:- £17,190. 100% of all donations goes directly to provide equipment.