Major works to improve traffic on a busy gateway to Chester got off to a low-key start this morning. 

The £1.2m scheme will see the A483/Wrexham Road widened inbound from a dual carriageway to a three-lane road between the Posthouse roundabout and the Chester Business Park.

The work is expected to take 10 weeks and motorists had been warned to expect ‘disruption’ to their journeys, but no severe delays were reported this morning as workmen laid out bollards during rush hour.  

Traffic management will only be in place during off-peak hours to minimise disruption. Between 6.30am and 9am, and again from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, two lanes of traffic will be maintained where possible.

During the works, the road will have a temporary 30mph speed restriction and the right turns into the Holiday Inn, and the petrol station next to it, will be temporarily closed until the scheme is completed.

The work – carried out by contractors, King Construction – aims to improve traffic flow on the A55, as well as the A483, by allowing traffic to leave the roundabout more speedily. 

A second phase of the scheme will involve resurfacing the A483 from the Heron’s Way roundabout, running adjacent to The King’s School and up to a point just before Nuffield Health’s Grosvenor Hospital. 

However, work on this section will not begin until the school half term holiday (from Friday, October 20) and will be carried out during nights only.

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s cabinet member for environment, councillor Karen Shore, said: “The scheme includes widening and resurfacing the route and unfortunately this means that motorists will experience some disruption from September 25,  for around 10 weeks, but once the scheme is finished the benefits will be obvious."

The council successfully applied for funding for the scheme through the National Productivity Investment Fund from the Department for Transport.