AERIAL photographs released by Highways England show work on the £192 million road project set to relieve traffic in the Bowdon area.

The pictures show ground work completed as part of the new A556 road linking the M6 and M56 in Cheshire well underway.

Highways England and Costain, the lead contractor for the Knutsford to Bowdon improvement, which will bypass the existing A556 – have launched a newsletter so residents are kept up to date with progress.

Work started in November and is set to be completed in early 2017.

The project is now entering a key stage, with work on installing three of the new road’s seven bridges – the ones at Bowdon, Tabley and Millington – as well as an underpass at Old Hall Lane.

Work on clearing land to accommodate a new roundabout as part of the remodelled M56 junction 7 is also underway

Highways England project manager Jonathan Stokes said: “Aerial photographs provide us with useful information to help us with the construction of the road but also give us a perfect opportunity to share the progress we are making and how the new road is developing.

“It’s obviously early days but even these first pictures show how the new link road is starting to take shape.”

Welcoming news of the progress so far, Roads Minister Andrew Jones said: “We are delivering the promises on road investment and these pictures demonstrate the excellent progress being made on the A556.

“The new road will divert heavy traffic away from local villages, making it is easier for residents to see friends and family and creating jobs and opportunities.”

The early months of the project have been spent setting up the main project offices along the A56 Lymm Road just off Bowdon roundabout.

he site also includes material and plant storage facilities. Other work has included installing boundary fencing and environmental mitigation measures.

Two planned and scheduled road closures off the A556 – of Millington Hall Lane north of Bucklow Hill and Old Hall Lane at Over Tabley – will take place on Monday July 22 and Wednesday July 2 respectively, lasting for the duration of the project.

The first A556 newsletter is due to be published and posted through doors over the next few weeks. The newsletter can be read online here.