Highways England is resurfacing a two and a half mile stretch of the A5036 from the junction with the M57 and the M58, known as Switch Island, to the junction with Hawthorne Road.

Contractors will resurface an area of road covering nearly 60,000 square metres – equivalent to the size of eight football pitches. They will also install nearly 1,300 new reflective road studs and repaint road markings.

All of the work will be carried out overnight to keep disruption to drivers to a minimum, and clearly-signed diversions will be in place when short stretches of the road are closed.

Philip Deller, Project Manager at Highways England, said: “Anyone who regularly travels on the A5036 will know it’s in need of resurfacing, with thousands of vehicles using it every day on their way to the port. A two and a half mile stretch of road is being resurfaced to remove potholes, and we’ll be using a low noise, high friction surface to provide smoother and quieter journeys. Drivers will be able to continue to use the road as normal during the day and we’ll have diversions in place when parts of the road are closed overnight.”

The first phase of the resurfacing scheme will affect the westbound side of the A5036 between Switch Island and Park Lane. It is due to start on Monday 24 August, subject to suitable weather conditions.

Contractors will then start work on the stretch of road between Park Lane and Hawthorne Road in October, with the project due to be finished by February 2016.

Earlier this year, Highways England completed a £3.4 million scheme to tackle congestion on the A5036 by creating a new westbound lane through the centre of the roundabout at the junction with Bridge Road, near Seaforth and Litherland train station.

The new lane and traffic lights allow drivers heading towards the port to take a shortcut through the centre of the roundabout, separating port-bound vehicles from local traffic.