Graham wins £26m Poynton relief road

Cheshire East Council has awarded Graham Construction a £26m design and build contract to deliver the Poynton relief road.The project involves construction of a new 3km single carriageway linking the A6 Manchester Airport relief road to the A523 London Road.Enabling works are now getting underway with major works set to start in May.It forms part of the South East Manchester Multi-Modal Scheme to improve existing transport links on the south east side of Greater Manchester.It will encourage the regeneration of Poynton, Macclesfield and the north of the area. Over £7m of funding will come from developer contributions – including £5.4m expected to come from the 1,500 new homes built at the Handforth Garden Village – £2m will come from the sale of council land and assets, including the Adlington Industrial Estate.The scheme will require a new road bridge to allow the proposed relief road to pass beneath the existing Chester Road and two additional bridges to allow existing public rights of way to pass over the proposed relief road.Landscaping and environmental mitigation works are proposed for great crested newts, bats and other environmental flora and fauna.Work is anticipated to take around 14 months.