Cycling in Manchester is about to get safer

A road closure this week will allow a key milestone in the £13.4 million Manchester to Chorlton cycling and walking route to be completed.

The Royce Road junction in Hulme will be closed to traffic from Thursday 18th – Sunday 21st June in all directions to allow resurfacing work to be carried out for a new junction.

The CYCLOPS junction, which will improve safety for all road users by fully segregating cyclists from general traffic, is the first in the UK.

It will allow bicycles to approach from four ‘arms’ which converge onto a cycle track which completely encircles the junction.

This means that bicycles can make a right turn at the junction, protected from traffic, and can complete the manoeuvre in one movement, dependent on signal timings.

To allow resurfacing work to be completed, a full closure of the Royce Road junction is required from Thursday 18th – Sunday 21st June, with signed diversions in place and resident access maintained throughout.

After the surfacing work at the junction and its approaches is completed, new traffic lights will be commissioned, making the CYCLOPS junction fully operational.

Temporary signals will be in place until new permanent lights can be switched on to make the new layout fully operational by Friday 26th June.

The completion of the CYCLOPS junction will mark the end of construction work on the first phase of the Manchester to Chorlton cycling and walking route project, which has also seen the creation of segregated cycle lanes along Chorlton Road, from Chester Road to Stretford Road.

The next phase of the scheme will see improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure on Chorlton Road between Stretford Road and Moss Lane East.