There's light at the end of the tunnel

a538

Having faced six and a half months of long delays, motorists will be delighted to hear that roadworks on the A538 will come to an end this week.

Work commenced at the runway tunnels in early May to enable energy efficient, low maintenance and controllable lighting to be installed in the four tunnels and the walls to be repainted.

In order to carry out these works the tunnels needed to be closed and the road was reduced to a single lane in each direction so traffic will share the same tunnels.

A spokesperson from Manchester Airport said "There will be a short closure between 22:00 hrs on 15th November and 05:00 hrs on 16th November for northbound traffic (it will be a lot shorter than this).

"The southbound tunnels will open overnight 15th/16th November and from 05:00 hrs on 16th November traffic will be back in the correct tunnels and all four road tunnels will be in use."

He added "Between 16th and 19th November a lane in each direction will be closed to allow 'reinstatement' works (pedestrian barriers to be replaced, bus stops returned etc) and the replacement of some fire doors in the tunnels.

"On Monday 20th November all lanes will be open and the road will have been reinstated to the same layout as before works commenced."

The work was initially scheduled to be completed in September but delayed as a result of a van fire on February 28th, which meant that soot that was lining the tunnels had to be cleaned from the walls before paint could be applied.

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said "Although the damage to the concrete was superficial (matching the assessment made in February) the damage caused by smoke/soot throughout the fabric of the tunnel was extensive. Before the 'bore' could be treated with a new surface treatment this 'soot' had to be cleared. The machinery first deployed was ineffective and failed to remove the 'soot'. It took time to source specialist advice and locate alternative equipment and then longer than had been planned to remove the soot."

Work on the A538 junction improvement scheme to provide additional capacity on the road and improve access to Sunbank Lane is anticipated to continue until December or January.

Wendy Sinfield, of Manchester Airport Group, confirmed at the Wilmslow Town Council meeting on Monday, 16th October, that traffic disruption along the stretch of road adjacent the Amazon and DHL warehouses will continue until the lights come down in the early part of next year.

She explained "The junction near Amazon was always planned to happen but when the site was built we didn't anticipate Amazon and all those people coming so quickly. So unfortunately what that meant was that the junction and the widening of that junction had to happen more quickly than anticipated so we anticipate the junction being finished in January, or it could be December but that sort of time it will be finished."

On completion, the road will be widened to a dual-carriageway and the existing Sunbank Lane junction upgraded to signal control to access the Runway Visitor Park and the World Logistics Hub.

Tags:
A538, Runway Tunnels
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