Poynton Relief Road hits latest milestone

The final bridge beams have been lifted into place for the new Chester Road bridge as work progresses on the £53 million Poynton Relief Road.

A 500-tonne crane was used to lift the final five 22.5 metre-long beams into position: each beam weighs 37.8 tonnes. The operation was completed within a day and the beams now form part of the largest structure in the much anticipated scheme.

During March, concrete will be poured to form the west abutment for the Adlington bridge, marking the completion of all major concrete works across all the project’s structures. Other ongoing works include installation of drainage systems. A second season of major earthworks will start early next month.

The 3 km Poynton Relief Road will relieve the village and neighbouring areas of high traffic volumes and congestion as well as improving connections between Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester Airport. The scheme will also improve air quality for residents and open up employment land on the Cheshire-Stockport border. The road is due to open to traffic at the end of the year and will also include two overbridge crossings for use by walkers, cyclists and farm vehicles and a 3.5m-wide combined cycle and footway along length of the route.

Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council and chair of the authority’s highways and transport committee, said:

“This is an impressive achievement by our construction contractors Graham, and a key milestone in progressing this important and long-awaited scheme. I congratulate all on a smooth operation.

“This scheme shows the council’s commitment to deliver major infrastructure improvements for Cheshire East and will improve links to Macclesfield, the surrounding area, south Manchester and the airport. It will also open up some much-needed employment land, reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in the area.”

Nick Hodder, project manager at scheme contractors Graham, said:

“We’re pleased with the progress being made on the Poynton Relief Road scheme and reaching the milestone of the beam lifting for the new Chester Road bridge. The lift was a delicate operation delivered carefully by our project team to ensure a safe and timely installation of the beams, which will support the new bridge.

“We now focus our attention on completing the remaining concrete works and earthworks to prepare for the opening of this much-anticipated relief road later this year.”

Cheshire East Council contributed £21 million towards the cost of the road scheme with Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership providing £5.6 million from the government’s Growth Deal and the Department for Transport providing £16.4 million. A total of £7.7 million is planned to come from developer contributions.