Osborne has started work on a £22 million dual carriageway project in Liverpool.

The contractor is widening the A565 (Great Howard Street/Derby Road) and completion is scheduled for summer 2019.

The new dual carriageway, which includes improved paving, traffic signals and street lighting, will be built in three phases;

• Phase 1: Leeds Street to Blackstone Street – Road widening phase (completed by spring 2018)

• Phase 2: Bankhall Street to Millers Bridge – Road widening phase (starting October 2017)

• Phase 3: Regent Road from Paisley Street to Nelson Street – New pavement/Resurfacing and cycleway provision phase (starting late October 2017)

• Phase 4: Boundary Street to Everton View – Upgrade of Traffic Signalised junctions and Street lighting with associated resurfacing (starting spring 2018)

The first phase of the works (at Leeds Street and King Edward Street) will require off-peak lane closures between 9.30am to 3.30pm and 7pm to 6am. Two lanes will be kept open at peak-times.

At the same time, work will begin to widen Great Howard Street with one lane of the northbound carriageway heading to Bootle closed from Oil Street to Blackstone Street.

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These works will take advantage of the current road closure where the Great Howard Street bridge is being replaced as part of a £10m project that will enable freight to travel to and from the new £400m Liverpool2 deep water container terminal, which is part of Peel Land and Trust's £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme. The bridge is expected to complete in August.

The dualling works will require a permanent northbound lane restriction which will then move to the southbound side as the scheme progresses. This element of the project is anticipated to be completed by Spring 2018.

The new 2.7km route in the city's Atlantic corridor is a key part of a £100m regeneration drive in North Liverpool. The project is seen as crucial to a new creative district in the area – called Ten Streets and will have spin off benefits for Everton FC's proposed new stadium at nearby Bramley Moore Dock.

In addition, the project will pave the way for a major revamp of the historic Regent Road – aka "the Dock Road" – to make that more pedestrian and bike friendly, creating a continuous cycle route from Crosby to Liverpool.

The scheme is also part of Liverpool City Council's wider £250m Better Roads programme to improve the city's road infrastructure.

Cllr Steve Munby said: "Work on making the A565 a full dual carriageway is absolutely essential to the future economic success of the city. Once complete it will benefit millions of journeys every year and will stimulate the renaissance in the Atlantic Corridor. The scheme will give Regent Road a completely new lease of life, benefiting our plans for the Ten Streets creativity zone as well as Everton FC's proposals for a new stadium."

John Dowsett, Managing Director – Infrastructure at Osborne, said: "Starting these works is highly significant to us and we look forward to helping to improve the infrastructure for Liverpool's city centre. This sees us working with forward thinking local authorities who recognise the collaborative approach we bring."

(LM/MH)