£2.5m improvement plans for flood-prone Manchester Airport road
Work to "enhance the resilience" of a flood-prone airport road could be undertaken this year, according to a council report.The improvements planned for the A555 Manchester Airport Relief Road include tackling drainage and maintenance issues.Funding for the work was highlighted in Stockport council's new transport spending programme for the year, and is understood to be part of regular maintenance and improvement works along the road.In total, about £2.5m would be spent "to address drainage and maintenance issues" as well as to "complete land transactions" from agreements when the road was built, the council report said.
The dual carriageway, located between Hazel Grove and Manchester Airport, was completed in 2018 but has faced regular flooding, often during storms or heavy rainfall.Most recently there were problems in January after major flooding on New Year's Day which caused issues across Greater Manchester.Heavy rainfall left part of the A555 underwater, with cars spotted stranded and submerged on the route.The road is used by people travelling to and from Manchester Airport, and goes on to join the M56 and A6 at separate ends.Councillor Grace Baynham, Stockport Council's cabinet member for parks, highways and transport services, said there had been several schemes to improve drainage on the road over the years."We have invested in several improvements to the drainage on the A555 and we recognise the challenges that we have faced in recent years," she said."We are continuing to develop drainage improvement schemes to enhance the resilience of the A555 between the Oil Terminal roundabout and the A34 junction and as part of this process, our teams are currently carrying out surveys of the highway drainage network in this area."The funding allocation in 2025/26 includes costs for land purchase and compensation."
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£2.5m improvement plans for flood-prone Manchester Airport road
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