Liverpool's The Rocket: Junction plans paused for green rethink

The original seven-year project to upgrade the junction, which was announced in 2019, was due to start in 2023

The upgrade of a busy road junction will be paused to "examine how it could be altered to better encourage greener modes of travel", a council has said.

Liverpool City Council had planned to demolish the flyover above The Rocket junction, which feeds into the M62, and create a roundabout and tunnel.

A re-evaluation will consider factors such as air quality and congestion.

Councillor Dan Barrington said the scheme could be changed "to encourage people not to drive into the city".

The junction, close to where the M62 meets Queens Drive and Edge Lane, is used by more than 100,000 vehicles a day.

'Climate emergency'

The original seven-year project to upgrade it, which was announced in 2019, was due to start in 2023.

A council spokesman said the authority had requested more time from the Department for Transport to look at how it could improve the traffic flow, cut congestion, encourage walking and cycling and improve air quality.

Mr Barrington said the pandemic had "altered commuting patterns, with... people not necessarily travelling into the office every day", which had created "an opportune moment to look at [the scheme] with a fresh pair of eyes".

"We have declared a climate emergency so we have to look at ways in which we can use this scheme to encourage people not to drive into the city centre," he said.

"It is right that we stop to take a breath now, and see whether we can make changes and improvements to link it up with greener and more active modes of transport."

He added that the upgrade's impact would be "felt for decades", so it was right that the council was "taking a relatively short period of time to review the scheme, which could pay dividends in the longer term".