IF you have been driving along Warrington’s busiest road recently, you will have driven over cables across the road surface.

Temporary automatic traffic counters have been installed at points along Winwick Road, close to junction nine of the M62.

The two rubber tubes, laid across the carriageway in close proximity to each other, are linked to a roadside recorder box.

These tubes can measure the speed and number of vehicles that pass over them.

Now, Warrington Borough Council has confirmed why traffic is being monitored.

A council spokesman said: “Traffic monitoring is taking place in Warrington.

“This is on behalf of developers who are proposing an intermodal logistics park on land located near the Parkside development in St Helens.

“Cameras have been deployed as part of the survey in St Helens and the surrounding areas, between Monday, October 7, and Friday, October 18.”

As previously reported, a rail freight terminal situated close to Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium could be relocated to Parkside, Newton-le-Willows.

This would enable a project to see the club develop a new stadium.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham announced that he has asked the Government for money to move a freight railway depot behind the stadium, with Parkside East the proposed location.

Trade press reported that Tritax Big Box Developments, which bought 221 acres at Parkside East in October 2023, has started planning a 2.5m sq ft rail terminal at the site.