{"id":521360,"date":"2025-10-23T05:04:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T05:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/521360\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T05:04:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T05:04:26","slug":"major-road-in-liverpool-city-centre-reopens-after-four-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/521360\/","title":{"rendered":"Major road in Liverpool city centre reopens after four months"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The structure which caused the road to close has been declared safe<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_Old-Hall-Street-re-opens-October-22-2025-pic-1.jpg\" alt=\"The road re-opened to traffic this afternoon\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>The road reopened to traffic this afternoon(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">A key Liverpool road has reopened after being closed for four months. Cars and buses had been unable to access Old Hall Street from the junction of<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/signs-movement-city-centre-road-32248311\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> Leeds Street and The Strand after it was closed to traffic on June 30<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Emergency services were called to the area after receiving a report from Berkeley Shaw. The firm are the estate managers for the Beetham Tower estate, acting on behalf of the estate owner. The call concerned a sculpture called Connections \u2013 Face of Liverpool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The abstract monument by Stephen Broadbent is located on its premises but<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/old-hall-street-road-closure-31963922\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> was reported to be leaning at a &#8220;concerning angle&#8221;<\/a>. A spokesperson for Merseyside Police confirmed to the ECHO that officers were at the scene that day to help manage traffic. They said they had received a call from the fire service<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/old-hall-street-road-closure-31963922\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> about the \u201cunsafe structure\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The diversion caused a bit of a headache for commuters. Old Hall Street allows people driving from Leeds Street and The Strand to quickly access the city\u2019s business district.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">This area includes the offices of the<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> Liverpool ECHO<\/a> and law firm<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/hill-dickinson-stadium\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> Hill Dickinson<\/a>, the sponsors of<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/everton-fc\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> Everton\u2019s<\/a> new stadium, in St Paul&#8217;s Square, as well as the passport office at 101 Old Hall Street.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The issue is further complicated by the maze of one-way systems and road designs that surround Old Hall Street. The road goes down to a single lane when you go past the Cotton Exchange. You can&#8217;t get onto the road from Bixteth Street either as it leads on to St Paul&#8217;s Square, which is pedestrianised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Drivers could only access Old Hall Street by going via Chapel Street, then on to Rumford Place and Union Street. The 54A and the 136 buses have also had to change their route.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The ECHO has been told that work to stabilise the structure began on Wednesday, October 8 and this was due to be completed by this Sunday (October 26).<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The road reopened this afternoon. Drivers are able to access Old Hall Street as was the case before the closure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The only difference is that the structure is currently fenced off but metal support beams have now been attached to it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Old-Hall-Street-re-opens-October-22-2025-pic-2.jpg\" alt=\"Metal support beams have been attached to the structure\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Metal support beams have been attached to the structure(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Commenting on the reopening of Old Hall Street, a spokesperson for Berkeley Shaw said: \u201cThe structure has been assessed by Liverpool City Council and declared safe and so we have been able to secure the immediate reopening of Old Hall Street for traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The closure has meant many passers-by<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/story-behind-unusual-landmark-thousands-31972367\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\"> have properly inspected the structure<\/a> for the first time. It was commissioned by Beetham Organisation and was completed in 2006 at the same time as the tower.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">According to Broadbent Studio\u2019s website, the aim was to \u201ccreate an integrated art and architecture solution, on a site at the threshold of historic, national and international trade connections&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">Broadbent worked on the project along with artists and designers from BCA and Smiling Wolf to mark the structure\u2019s unique position in the city between the waterfront and the business district. It also aimed to showcase Liverpool\u2019s history of trade and migration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">The structure gets its name due to a series of glass portholes on the floor of the garden, which contain 32 faces of people who have made Liverpool their adopted home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">A quote on the side of the wall facing the main road says: \u201cLiverpool &#8211; threshold to the ends of the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"liverpoolecho\">This was said by writer Michael O\u2019Mahoney in 1931 and fits with the theme of Liverpool as a global melting pot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The structure which caused the road to close has been declared safeThe road reopened to traffic this afternoon(Image:&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521361,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,4884,179,2349,760,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-521360","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-liverpool","12":"tag-liverpool-city-centre","13":"tag-traffic-and-travel","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115421739165826761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}