GMCA to sign off £14m for ring road upgrades
Greater Manchester Combined Authority is set to approve the release of Local Growth Deal funding to enable improvements at six junctions around Regent Road and Water Street, with a contract to be awarded in July.
The Manchester Salford Inner Relief Road scheme is being pursued jointly by the two city councils, and will address one of the key routes into the commercial core, following the recently-completed gateway review carried out by GMCA.
Dr Jon Lamonte, chief executive of Transport for Greater Manchester, has authored the report, which will go before GMCA tomorrow. The MSIRR, long regarded as a pinch point at times of peak congestion, was identified as a key priority in the Greater Manchester Congestion Deal published earlier this year.
The scheme will look to alleviate congestion in the city core by improving capacity at Regent Road, Hampson Street and Chester Road junctions, with the intention of making the ring road a more appealing option and reducing the growth in the volume of journeys into the central area.
Lamonte’s report to GMCA said that there will be benefits for pedestrians and cyclists through updated signal staging arrangements, along with enhanced crossing facilities at all six junctions concerned.
The contract has been tendered through the Manchester City Council framework.
