A new bridge for people walking and cycling over Hyde Road has been formally opened by the Lord Mayor of Manchester.
The bowstring arch bridge, which is around 25 metres long, four metres high and has four metres width for people crossing on foot or by bike, was lifted into place in June. With the final touches having been put in place, the Lord Mayor, Cllr Abid Latif Chohan and Assistant Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport, Cllr Basat Sheikh, officially welcomed members of the public to enjoy cycling or walking across it.
The opening of the new bridge re-completes the Fallowfield Loop – a 14km off-road path used by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders running from Chorlton in the west of the city, through Fallowfield and Levenshulme and on to Gorton and Fairfield in the east. Named after the railway line which used to run along its route, it is believed to be the longest urban cycleway in the country, running past several parks and open spaces and linking to many other cycle and public transport routes.
The Hyde Road bridge replacement scheme was designed to solve a congestion pinch point in the Gorton area, where Hyde Road (the A57) was narrowed from four lanes to two between Far Lane and Wall Way by a former rail bridge.
With the new bridge now opened, utility works will continue on Hyde Road, before construction work for the new road and footway layout and a new puffin crossing begins in the autumn. Weather permitting, the programme of work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.
Manchester City Council is planning a £4.9m scheme to enhance the Fallowfield Loop, creating a safer, more convenient and accessible cycling and walking network, to encourage more people to take up active travel. A public consultation for this scheme is set to launch later this week.
This has resulted in less capacity for cyclists and pedestrians and increased the capacity for the road vehicles below. This ‘completes’ the Fallowfield Loop which was already completed before they removed the previous bridge.
Increasing road space only leads back to congestion in the end