Removal of flawed Churchill Flyovers enters final phases

Churchill Flyover demolition is nearing completion

One half of Liverpool’s flawed Churchill Way Flyovers will have vanished from the city’s skyline after this weekend.

The remaining four spans of the Northern flyover will be taken down as engineers embark on the final phases of the monumental, four month long task of dismantling the condemned 50 year-old structures.

Contractors for the mammoth deconstruction scheme are to deploy ‘munching machines’ originally used on the removal of the footbridges, which serviced the city centre’s last remaining ‘highway in the sky’.

This technique will replace the ‘cut and lower’ method deployed to date. The change in methodology will mean that no further closures are required on neighbouring Byrom Street and Hunter Street from Monday, 25 November.

To offset any dust issues from the ‘munching’ method, water spray will be used to create a mist to prevent air born particles drifting away from the site.

The removal of the remaining North flyover spans, each weighing up to 600 tonnes – will begin at 7pm this Friday (22 November) and will require lane closures of Hunter Street westbound, heading to the A59 and Birkenhead Tunnel, and Byrom Street, southbound heading to the Birkenhead Tunnel.

The lane closures are scheduled to end at 5am on Monday, 25 November. This will be the final closures for the gargantuan scheme as the remaining South flyover spans sit away from any public roads. These will be removed by early December.

Both Mersey tunnels will remain open over the weekend. However, for tunnel users travelling from Liverpool to Wirral, access to the Birkenhead tunnel will be via Victoria Street only. Tunnel users are advised to consider using the Wallasey tunnel where possible.

The lane closures will also means some changes to bus services, due to diversions, such as the Liverpool to Southport service. Details on the changes can be found at: www.merseytravel.gov.uk/travelupdates. There may also be disruption to other city centre bus services due to potential congestion. Motorists are advised to allow more time for journeys. Traffic updates will be provided on Merseytravel’s twitter feed.

Pedestrians needing to get to the LJMU campus on Byrom Street can go via Hatton Garden to Great Crosshall Street or via William Brown Street, Islington and Hunter Street (when not fully closed.)

The Process

The removal of the Churchill Way Flyovers is currently the most complex highways engineering scheme in the UK.

The North and South flyovers – each of which are 800 feet in length – have been segmented out into 20 spans, each of which are being removed in a pre-determined sequence to mitigate impact in a very busy part of Liverpool city centre.

The four month-long deconstruction programme has necessitated an innovative “cut and lift” technique along with traditional demolition methods and this was devised collaboratively between Amey Consulting, GRAHAM and their specialist contractors.

Liverpool City Council approved this hyper-sensitive approach at a cost of £6.75m, after the two-lane highways were closed at the end of September 2018 following the discovery of construction flaws.

Once the deconstruction is completed in December, alterations will be made to the highway layout around the Hunter Street – Byrom Street – Queensway Tunnel entrance, to improve traffic and pedestrian movements.

The site compound at Fontenoy Street, at which the sections are cut into smaller pieces, has required tree removal, but the city council has plans to double tree numbers as part of a new post-flyover masterplan for the area.

Info for motorists

Road closures currently in place for the scheme:

• Fontenoy Street will remain closed until mid-December.
•  Cuerden Street will remain closed until mid-December.

Surrounding car parks at Fontenoy Street, Dale Street, Primrose Hill and Hunter Street have now all closed and will re-open as phases complete during the month of December.

If car journeys are necessary, motorists are being redirected to nearby car parks at Victoria Street, Mount Pleasant, Queen Square and St Johns Shopping Centre.

• For more flyover information including all road closures and diversions go to: www.liverpool.gov.uk/churchillwayflyovers
• Regular updates can be found on Twitter @lpoolcouncil or at the city council’s Facebook page.

Funding for the deconstruction comes from the Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) Phase 1 Grant Fund Agreement, which is supported by a £38.4m grant from the Local Growth Fund with city council match funding of £8.7m. Local Growth Funding is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority through its Strategic Investment Fund.

For more information about the £45m LCCC programme, which is a key scheme within the council’s wider £500m Better Roads programme head to the website here.