A multimillion dual carriageway is set to create a new major route into Liverpool city centre.
Liverpool City Council have appointed national contractor Osborne to carry out the work to widen the A565 route of Great Howard Street and Derby Road.
Construction on the £18 million project is set to begin in April this year on the route which handles traffic between Sefton and Liverpool along the northern docks.
The new 2.7km long stretch in the city’s Atlantic corridor is seen as crucial to ‘Ten Streets’, a new creative village in the area, with the council set to announce a vision for the scheme on Thursday.
The new dual carriageway 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.
Lane restrictions will be enforced to minimise disruption on the A565, which is also currently the subject of a new £10m bridge that will enable freight to travel to and from the new £400m Liverpool2 deep water container terminal.
The scheme will be completed in four phases and will see work initially undertaken on the junctions between King Edward Street and Blackstone Street.
Junctions between Bankhall Street and Millers Bridge will also be renovated while planned improvements for cycle and pedestrian facilities are due to be undertaken on Regent Road.
Council bosses expect the project to be completed by Spring 2019 as part of their £250m Better Roads programme, designed to improve the city’s road infrastructure.
Councillor Malcom Kennedy, Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “I’m delighted a company committed to engaging local Liverpool supply partners has won this contract as we are very keen to ensure Liverpool’s regeneration stimulates the local economy at every level.
“The A565 is a vital artery in North Liverpool and making it a full dual carriageway is part of a much wider plan to improve the transport infrastructure and stimulate a long overdue renaissance in our Atlantic Corridor.
“I’m especially excited by the fact that this scheme will give Regent Road a completely new lease of life.
“It will also provide a solid platform for the Ten Streets creativity zone to flourish and prosper.”