Mersey Gateway ready for weekend opening

BAM Nuttall has started work on a major redevelopment of the Kirkdale depot that will house all maintenance work for the new fleet of Merseyrail trains, due to be introduced from 2020.

Rail commuters in Liverpool will have to navigate the closure of Lime Street Station from the end of this month, after which they will be diverted onto Merseyrail services from South Parkway, where staff will be on strike for two days next week.

Mayors and leaders from Liverpool City Region, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority have discussed further the formation of a body that will provide a strong, unified voice for the north.

Registrations for Merseyflow, the quickest way to use the Mersey Gateway bridge, have reached more than 50,000 a month ahead of the bridge’s expected opening in mid-October.

Three cars, one tanker, and bloodied victims screaming for their lives. But what looked like a horrific collision with multiple casualties and even a death, was in fact an emergency services drill, co-ordinated by Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service to test responses on the new Mersey Gateway bridge ahead of its opening. [GALLERY]

Two key infrastructure projects have moved a step closer, with Highways England setting out its preferred options for upgrading the key route to the Port of Liverpool and creating a new junction on the M56 near Runcorn.

Merseylink, the construction consortium building the £600m Mersey Gateway said it has reassessed the build programme for the remaining works, and the new bridge could open by mid-September, ahead of time and within budget.

The three giant tower cranes that have sat behind each pylon of the new £300m Mersey Gateway Bridge are being dismantled and removed as the bridge opening date draws closer.

The construction of the £600m Mersey Gateway has passed a major milestone, with the final segment of bridge deck inserted to join the last deck sections together, so the bridge now fully spans the River Mersey.