The first phase of a highways improvement project to transform a major route into Rochdale town centre has completed.
The Bee Network project involves the upgrade of a number of junctions along the busy A58 Manchester Road to create new pedestrian crossings to improve safety, as well as optimised lights which will speed up journey times. It will also see the creation of a new cycle lane, which will eventually run from Castleton town centre to Rochdale town centre.
The project, which is being funded by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), is being delivered in phases to minimise disruption along the road, which is a major route into Rochdale from the M62 motorway and other parts of the borough.
The first 2 phases of work, now complete, have seen the creation of a new crossing point, close to the junction of Tweedale Street and Manchester Road, with optimised lights to increase capacity and separate sections for cyclists and pedestrians. In addition, a third crossing has been created over Manchester Road, to add to the existing crossings around this junction.
In Castleton, major improvements have taken place on the stretch of road between the Royal Toby Hotel and the Tesco superstore in Silk Street. The pavement and road have been resurfaced, improving the appearance of the area, while an informal crossing, close to Gipsy Lane, has been replaced with a safer, push button crossing. In addition, a cycle lane has been created along this route, so it now stretches from Castleton centre to Tesco.
A dedicated 34 space car park has also been created to serve Mandale Park and Beech House School in Manchester Road, which is being used as a site compound and will be brought into use for the public at the end of the project.
The next phase of the project will focus on the area around Manchester Road, New Barn Lane and Kemp Street. Major changes to be delivered during this phase include the creation of proper crossing facilities around the Highfield Hospital, so people can access it without having to use the subway, which will be filled in.
In addition, a dedicated right turn filter arrow will be installed to support drivers turning right from Manchester Road into New Barn Lane, close to the Esso garage and Starbucks drive thru.
As with the rest of the project, each junction will be upgraded with optimised lights, to increase capacity and speed up journeys, while the road and pavements will be resurfaced, with new kerbs built. The creation of the cycle lane, which will eventually run all along the route into Rochdale town centre, will also continue during this phase, with most of this section being built on Old Manchester Road, which is parallel to Manchester Road.
The next phase of work is set to start in early October 2025 and is expected to complete in March 2026. The entire project is due to complete in early 2027.
Councillor Shah Wazir, cabinet member for highways at Rochdale Borough Council, said:
“This is one of the most ambitious schemes delivered on our road network in a number of years and the result will be transformative. Every junction along the route will be optimised with the latest technology to increase capacity and speed up journeys, bus stops will be upgraded and new crossings will be introduced in a major boost to safety. In addition, the cycle lane will be extended, which will create a seamless cycling route all the way from Castleton to Rochdale town centre.”