Having faced six and a half months of long delays, motorists will be delighted to hear that roadworks on the A538 will come to an end this week.
Work commenced at the runway tunnels in early May to enable energy efficient, low maintenance and controllable lighting to be installed in the four tunnels and the walls to be repainted.
In order to carry out these works the tunnels needed to be closed and the road was reduced to a single lane in each direction so traffic will share the same tunnels.
A spokesperson from Manchester Airport said "There will be a short closure between 22:00 hrs on 15th November and 05:00 hrs on 16th November for northbound traffic (it will be a lot shorter than this).
"The southbound tunnels will open overnight 15th/16th November and from 05:00 hrs on 16th November traffic will be back in the correct tunnels and all four road tunnels will be in use."
He added "Between 16th and 19th November a lane in each direction will be closed to allow 'reinstatement' works (pedestrian barriers to be replaced, bus stops returned etc) and the replacement of some fire doors in the tunnels.
"On Monday 20th November all lanes will be open and the road will have been reinstated to the same layout as before works commenced."
The work was initially scheduled to be completed in September but delayed as a result of a van fire on February 28th, which meant that soot that was lining the tunnels had to be cleaned from the walls before paint could be applied.
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said "Although the damage to the concrete was superficial (matching the assessment made in February) the damage caused by smoke/soot throughout the fabric of the tunnel was extensive. Before the 'bore' could be treated with a new surface treatment this 'soot' had to be cleared. The machinery first deployed was ineffective and failed to remove the 'soot'. It took time to source specialist advice and locate alternative equipment and then longer than had been planned to remove the soot."
Work on the A538 junction improvement scheme to provide additional capacity on the road and improve access to Sunbank Lane is anticipated to continue until December or January.
Wendy Sinfield, of Manchester Airport Group, confirmed at the Wilmslow Town Council meeting on Monday, 16th October, that traffic disruption along the stretch of road adjacent the Amazon and DHL warehouses will continue until the lights come down in the early part of next year.
She explained "The junction near Amazon was always planned to happen but when the site was built we didn't anticipate Amazon and all those people coming so quickly. So unfortunately what that meant was that the junction and the widening of that junction had to happen more quickly than anticipated so we anticipate the junction being finished in January, or it could be December but that sort of time it will be finished."
On completion, the road will be widened to a dual-carriageway and the existing Sunbank Lane junction upgraded to signal control to access the Runway Visitor Park and the World Logistics Hub.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
So January, then.
And I'm with James - 2 lanes for a reason, and the drivers are very rarely speeding or reckless - there usually too much traffic for that. Sensible considerate merging would help - if you want to queue in the inside lane then fine, but don't whine about it, drive in the other (legitimate) lane
I suggest that YOU look at the Highway Code again.
Specifically......
163 which states - Stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues.
or
167 which states - DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example where traffic is queuing at junctions or road works.
No need to thank me.
Have a look at this.
Zip-merging: why drivers who merge at the last minute are right | RAC Drive
http://bit.ly/2tYv4rt
What is needed is some signs and driver education to inform drivers of zippping. This does not excuse drivers from attacking the zip at dangerous or intimidating speeds.
I think that zip rules apply when (like a zip) drivers are converging on the same point, at the same time and they (like a zip) merge in turn.
The Airport tunnel scenario is generally different in so far as cars will pull out, overtake a half mile of standing traffic to "merge" at the front.
Quite apart from the rules offered in The Highway Code (above) - general rules of common courtesy should apply.
The rules of common courtesy are usually flouted by the LH lane queuers in my experience, who will sometimes position their vehicles in an attempt to physically prevent the movement of vehicles in the RH lane. Not only an offence (deliberate obstruction), and not courteous, but also potentially dangerous driving.
"Merging in turn is recommended but only if safe and appropriate when vehicles are travelling at a very low speed, e.g. when approaching road works or a road traffic incident."
Merging in turn is the official UK term for zip-merging.
I do see where you are coming from and I agree that zip merging / merge in turn is the correct course of action as two lanes of moving traffic converge to form a single lane.
However, where there is a long queue, I (and the Highway Code) suggest that it is wrong to pull out and overtake in order to "jump the queue."
I accept that it is equally wrong for a driver in the LH lane to pull out in order to block the progress of the queue jumper....though I do smile to myself when I see this happen (am I a bad person?)
I like the current situation with each tunnel bore down to a single lane - as others have correctly said, it's not the work in the tunnels that's causing the delay it's the Airport City development and the appallingly bad planning of same. The tunnel work has (IMHO)served to marshal the traffic through in the correct order and at appropriate speed.
It’s not a post office queue, it’s a dual carriage way. I have changed my mind on this following research. I used to belong to the angry camp. That said, I don’t bother changing lanes or consider my self cheater if i end up in the left hand lane.
If we all planned ahead and set off in plenty of time to obey the speed limit and rules of the road less people would die and be injured.