A556 road
A556 | ||
---|---|---|
A54
A56 M56 | ||
Northeast end | Rostherne 53°22′07″N 2°23′11″W / 53.368722°N 2.386351°W | |
Location | ||
Country | Primary destinations Northwich | |
Road network | ||
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The A556 is a road in England which extends from the village of Delamere in Cheshire West and Chester to the Bowdon Interchange in Cheshire East, bordering Greater Manchester.[1][2] The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections and forms a large part of the route between Manchester and Chester. It also acts as a major access route to Chester/North Wales to the west and to Manchester to the east for the conurbation of towns and villages around the Dane Valley centering on Winsford and Northwich. The central part, which forms the Northwich Bypass between Davenham and Lostock Gralam, suffers because of the amount of commuter traffic from this area. The part of the route between the M6 motorway Junction 19 and the M56 motorway Junction 7 is a major route into Manchester and has been recently upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway.
The road is frequently congested, carrying approximately 80,000 vehicles per day in 2020 between the M6 and M56 and 45,000 vehicles per day From the A533 Junction for Winsford and Northwich to the M6.[citation needed] The road has a high accident record; between 1998 and 2005, there were around 200 accidents, resulting in 5 fatalities and 39 people being seriously injured.[3]
Route description
The route begins in the south of Manchester at junction 7 of the M56. It then runs in a southwesterly direction towards Chester, joining the A54 near Delamere.
At its northern limit, the A556 comes as a spur off the M56 at Junction 7 where it also connects with the A56 at the large interchange roundabout. The A56 continues towards central Manchester via Altrincham. The A556 runs southwest as a new (2017) dual carriageway with a limited-access junction at Millington and another where it crosses the A50. The dual carriageway goes on to connect to the roundabout at Junction 19 of the M6.
The A556 continues as a four-laned single carriageway (i.e. with no physical separation between the traffic flows) in a southwesterly direction to another set of traffic lights. A left (easterly) turn here joins the
At the junction with the
The road through the village is limited to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) and has traffic light junctions with Dalefords Lane/School Lane and the
After the A49 junction the road becomes delimited and turns to a southwesterly route past
Recent improvements
Work began in November 2014 to build a four-lane dual carriageway bypass between junction 19 of the
The A556 had previously been considered for upgrade to motorway status,[7][8] but this was rejected in 2003 by the Secretary of State for Transport.
In 2017 a junction improvement was completed around the Davenham area to enable vehicles to turn safely onto Hartford Road coming from Hartford/Chester and also to allow for housing developments to have Trunk Route Access.
In 2020/2021 a further junction improvement costing around £3m was completed for the Gadbrook Park Junction in Rudheath. This will involve creating two extra slip roads, extra lanes on all approaches and extending existing turning lanes to help cut congestion by 14% in the area.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Bowden Roundabout". Google maps. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ 109 Manchester (Map). 1:50000. Landranger. Ordnance Survey.
- Highways Agency. Archived from the originalon 4 July 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
- Highways Agency. Archived from the originalon 6 March 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
- ^ "New £192m bypass opens linking M6 and M56 motorways". BBC News. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ Google Earth view
- Highways Agency. Archived from the originalon 6 March 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
- ^ Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 1649 The A556(M) Motorway (M6 to M56 Link) Supplementary Connecting Roads Scheme 1996