The North Liverpool Key Corridor (NLKC) scheme began work on site in spring 2017. This was a joint initiative between Liverpool City Council and Sefton Council, in which Liverpool where the scheme promoter.
The scheme was aimed to deliver a modern fully ‘dualled’ road link on the A565 Great Howard Street and Derby Road between Millers Bridge in Sefton and Leeds Street in Liverpool. The improvements were aimed to reduce congestion, improve access and reduce accidents along this key corridor.
Following the collapse of the original contractor in 2021, Liverpool City Council were forced to re-appoint contractors to complete this essential highway scheme which had stalled. After a complex tender process, Dowhigh were announced as new contractor for the project in October 2021 with work commencing December through to September 2022, with additional works being undertaken in 2023.
The full project covered a section of the A565 from Great Howards Street to Millers Bridge however a large part of the original scheme had been completed, so the project scope involved pockets of work that were either in progress or not started at that point.
The stalling of these highway schemes was a huge blow. We share the frustrations of everyone affected and we apologise for the delays. The upgrades to the A565, in particular, are more complex and costly as they are of huge consequence to our overall highways network
Daniel Barrington, Cabinet member for Climate Emergency, Transport and Environment
The overall project value was approximately £1million and Dowhigh worked closely with Amey through the entirety of the scheme. With many stakeholders involved, including the Port of Liverpool, Peel Ports, petrol stations and multiple businesses along the route, this was an extremely high profile project for Dowhigh. Due to the nature of works, and the importance of the carriageway into the city centre, much of the surfacing work were undertaken in the evening, which minimised the disruption to traffic and businesses, but also maintaining safety to both the public and the Dowhigh team.
The scope of the works included:
- Surfacing of over 6500m2 of HRA in the carriageway
- Reprofiling of junctions along carriageway
- Moving and re-profiling to widen the central reservation
- Widening of the footpath through both asphalt and high quality paving
- New signalised junctions and pedestrian crossings
A key component of the scheme included the resurfacing of the entrance and exit of the Port of Liverpool which again involved night-time working but also the control of vehicles in and out of the port – a property which has vehicles entering the dock twenty-four hours a day.
During the project, over 820T of surfacing was removed from site and taken to our recycling plant in Bootle, with approximately 120T being recycled and reused in the footway.
In 2023, Dowhigh returned to the A565 to complete works at the Shell Garage where we reprofiled and resurfaced the exit and entrance into the property.
I have worked with Dowhigh in Liverpool City Centre for the last 8 months and found the performance of the contract administration team and site team to be of a very high standard, always working proactively and safely, managing stakeholders effectively and offering VE solutions to overcome site issues promptly. I look forward to working with Dowhigh again in the near future
Stephen Lawlor, Project Director, AMEY