The first instalment of a £50m 'fit-for-the-future investment' in Merseyside and Cheshire's M53 motorway is due to start next week - one of the first major elements of the £27bn five-year third Road Investment Strategy.

Over the next three years, the national operator aims to replace four ageing bridges, alongside targeted repairs, resurfacing and drainage improvements - all while keeping motorway traffic moving on the major route.

Each of the new bridge decks will be assembled alongside the motorway and wheeled into place once the old bridges have been demolished – a technique used for the bridge replacement work at Moreton, at junction 2 of the motorway, several years ago.

The programme of works comes under RIS 3, which has allocated £8.4bn for resurfacing carriageways and renewing bridges between 2026 and 2031.

Amy Williams, National Highways' director for the North West, said: 'Parts of the M53 were built almost 55 years ago at a time when traffic volumes and the weight of vehicles were considerably lower. This £50m maintenance, renewals and repairs package – including the new bridge decks - will help secure safe, smooth and reliable journeys for businesses, commuters, residents and other motorway users for many years to come.'

A £3m routine maintenance project will start along Eastham Viaduct on Monday (18 May). Meanwhile, National Highways is still developing plans for the package of bridge deck replacements over the motorway at Upton Road, Raby Hall Road and Clatterbridge junction.

For each of the projects, overnight lane closures along the M53 will be used where possible - with a limited number of weekend motorway closures for demolition and installation phases, National Highways said. Traffic management will also need to be installed along the local road network.

The resurfacing and drainage work will start in July and also run into the Autumn, with regular overnight single carriageway closures and clearly-signed diversions in place.

The M53 programme in detail includes:

  • Eastham viaduct - replacement of the expansion joints along the bridge between junction 4 and junction 5. The viaduct carries the motorway over the Wirral Circular Trail and the main Merseyrail Wirral line between Chester and Liverpool. Expansion joints are mechanisms which allow bridge structures to expand and contract safely during changes in temperature.
  • £5.2m resurfacing and £455,000 drainage improvements between junction 7 at Ellesmere Port and junction 10 at Little Stanney.
  • Upton Road bridge - replacement of the bridge decks, which carry the A5027 local road over the motorway between junction 2 and junction 3
  • Raby Hall Road bridge - replacement of this bridge, which carries the local road over the M53 between junction 4 and junction 5.
  • Clatterbridge interchange - The two bridges over the M53 at junction 4 at Clatterbridge will also be replaced. These two bridges form part of the roundabout over the M53 at junction 4.

The M53, which runs for almost 19 miles between Chester in Cheshire and Wallasey in Merseyside, was constructed in several phases, with the northern section serving the Mersey tunnels opened in 1972 and the final, southern, stretch to Hoole outside Chester city centre, completed in 1982.