A £5 million upgrade of the old A556 between Knutsford and Bowdon in Cheshire has officially been handed to local communities as a new B road – complete with a dedicated route for the area’s cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders.

Highways England has converted the old A556 Chester Road – which has been replaced by the £192 million Knutsford to Bowdon bypass – into the B5569, a new 5.4km B road which will now be operated by Cheshire East Council.

The road was formally ‘detrunked’ and handed over to the council at a special ribbon-cutting ceremony near Mere crossroads , attended by key officials from Highways England, Cheshire East Council, parish councillors and Tatton MP Esther McVey.

Since the new A556 opened to drivers in March, work to convert the old road has included turning the old northbound two lane carriageway into a dedicated, segregated green route for pedestrians, cyclists and horses riders

The green route is four metres wide and separated from the new B road by a wide border planted with a wild flower mix
converting the old two lane southbound carriageway into a new B road with as single lane in each direction

The scheme has seen the installation of brand new drainage along the new route as well as totally resurfacing the re-arranged layout

There are totally new junction layouts at Bucklow Hill/Chapel Lane and Mere junctions giving priority to the A5034 and A50 traffic

There is also a signalised Pegasus crossing – specifically designed to assist horse riders – at the junction between the green route and the A50 at Mere.

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