Manchester Airport is to close the main access road to Terminals 1 and 3 from 15 February at 22:00 until Monday morning on 3 March while a ”15m ($30m) project is undertaken to create an extra platform at the airport”s railway station.
To accommodate it, Network Rail needs to add a new supporting bridge under Outwood Lane, which leads to the terminals. To do that the road must be closed, and a well-signed diversion will be put in place for passengers arriving by car.
Road traffic will continue to be directed off the M56 at junction 5 but T1 traffic will be diverted via T2 past the station. T3 traffic will be routed up Ringway Road West and onto Ringway Road, past Premier Park and the Airport Hotel.
”It is impossible to predict how much longer road users should allow but we don”t expect major disruption,” said Manchester Airport”s capacity planning manager, Bob Longworth. ”However, the morning and evening peak periods are always busy so we are advising people to leave a little extra time for the trip.”
The airport believes a third rail platform at the station will mean significant improvements for passengers using connecting trains, including more capacity on future services, and greater reliability and punctuality. It will also relieve congestion around Manchester Piccadilly station.
”At the moment there are only two platforms at the airport and with more than 300 services a day calling there, we often have to have a couple of trains in the same platform at any one time,” said Network”s Rail area general manager, Gary Openshaw.
Rail passengers are being told they will be largely unaffected by the work except for the weekend of the 16-17 February, when trains between Manchester Piccadilly and the airport will be replaced by coaches. People should check their travel plans either by calling their train operator, or National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or by logging onto www.nationalrail.co.uk.
The project is being jointly funded by Network Rail, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and The Northern Way.