MAJOR road closures start today to pave the way for the £600 million Mersey Gateway.

Bridge builder Merseylink apologises for any delays and disruption but says survey work is vital to finalise plans for the approach roads for the new bridge.

The southbound slip road from Halton Brow to the Central Expressway, including the Halton Lea exit, will be closed for two days, from today until Thursday, September 11.

Hugh O’Connor, general manager for Merseylink, said: “These works are all part of our final preparation and survey work that we need to do before we can complete the final design of the approach roads to the new bridge in both Widnes and Runcorn.

“We realise that there will be some inconvenience for drivers and local people and we’re working hard to make local residents and commuters aware of the closures and to put in place diversions to minimise disruption as much as possible.”

The southbound slip road from Halton Lea to Central Expressway will be closed on Friday, September 12.

Two lanes will be closed on the Central Expressway northbound and southbound between Halton Brook and The Calvers on Monday, September 15.

The A562 Speke Road (Ditton flyover) will have two lane closures in both directions for barrier repairs on Tuesday, September 16 and Wednesday, September 17.

There will be a total closure of the Weston Link northbound from the Weston Point Expressway slip road for 10 days from September 20 to September 30. This will affect entry onto both the A533 northbound Central Expressway and the A533 eastbound Expressway.

The southbound carriageway of Weston Link, heading towards the A557 Weston Point Expressway will remain open.

Diversions will be signposted.