Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are benefiting from a £1.1m scheme to improve safety at a busy junction near Ellesmere Port.
The Highways England project at Two Mills, where the A550 crosses the A540, started last July and is to be officially opened later this month.
The project has created a new 320m cycle path through the junction with traffic lights and toucan crossings making it easier to cross the A550.
The right turn lanes onto the A540 from the A550 have also been improved and a new high-friction road surface laid to reduce the risk of collisions at the junction.
Highways England says the A540, which runs between Chester and Hoylake, is popular with cyclists. Group rides set off from the Eureka cyclists’ café near the Two Mills junction throughout most of the year.
Phil Tyrrell, project manager at Highways England, said at the time: “We’re committed to significantly improving safety across our road network and the new cycle path as well as the wider and longer right turn lanes will make it much easier and safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to cross the junction.”
The new cycle path, which will be shared by cyclists and pedestrians, runs along the southbound A540.
The route crosses two new islands on the A550 at the Two Mills junction before continuing along the A540.
Two crossings have also been created at either end of the cycle path for people travelling in the opposite direction.
A bus stop on the A540 has been moved to the opposite side of the junction to allow space for the new cycle path.
Welcoming the announcement of the project, Peter Williams from Neston, a member of the Chester Cycling Campaign which presses for new and improved cycle routes, said: “I tend to meet up with members of the Chester and North Wales Cyclists’ Touring Club twice a week at the Eureka cyclists’ café near the junction before we set off on a ride.
“You have to be really careful when you cross the junction at the moment and a few people I know have had their bikes clipped by drivers who haven’t seen them so the new cycle path will definitely make it safer.”
The opening will take place on Friday January 19. Mr Williams says he is receiving ‘lots of good comments’ from cyclists about the improvements.
Most of the work has been carried out overnight between 8pm and 5am with some work also taking place at weekends.
The project is one of 200 cycling schemes taking place across England up until 2021 paid for by a £100m Government fund for cycling.
