Contractors complete Hall Lane Gateway

Long-awaited improvements to the drive in from the M62 into Liverpool city centre are due to be completed this week.

The £20m replacement carriageway for Hall Lane, which runs parallel to Mt Vernon St, will be fully open to motorists on Friday.

The project, delivered by Birse Civils and funded by the Department for Transport with £1.5m from the European Regional Development Fund and £400,000 from Liverpool City Council, is aimed at taking traffic out of residential areas and speeding up journey times.

The changes are part of the £350m Edge Lane West scheme which has involved the contentious compulsory purchase and demolition of 500 homes to allow for a dual carriageway link to the M62.

Communities minister Baroness Hanham said: "The Hall Lane Scheme will make a real difference to the people of Liverpool, from the local people benefiting from eased traffic congestion in their neighbourhoods to businesses in the city reaping the rewards of being more accessible to their customers. This project will have a really positive economic impact for Liverpool."

Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for regeneration and transport, cllr Malcolm Kennedy, said: "The Hall Lane strategic gateway scheme is a vitally important scheme, which will bring huge benefits to the local community, to commuters and to the wider public.

"We are very grateful to the Department for Transport and the European Regional Development Fund for the support they have given us in making this scheme a reality."