THE Mersey Tunnels are set to receive six key improvements after income for the route was much higher than expected last year.

Six updates to the tunnels connecting Liverpool and Wirral are set to be considered at Thursday's meeting of the authority's transport committee, and are listed below:

1. A date for when drivers can finally pay contactless in ANY lane

At the moment, drivers without cash must go through an attended lane to pay by card, but this facility will soon be rolled out to all unmanned lanes too.

According to the document, a trial lane will be in operation at the tunnels by the middle of August.

It will be "fully evaluated" before, it's hoped, the full launch of contactless in the second week of September across both Kingsway and Queensway tunnels, "but this is still subject to further rigorous testing".

2. Average times travelling through tolls drops

The document said new hardware installed in February this year has meant an improvement in traffic flow, with the claim journey times through the plaza have reduced by 15% as a "direct result" of the changes.

3. Multimillion-pound resurfacing of approach roads

This work will see the four carriageways making up the Gorelink (Wallasey approach roads to the Kingsway Tunnel) resurfaced, and comes from a £3m investment from the local growth fund, with Merseytravel giving 10% on top of the grant figure.

The design, created by Mott MacDonald, has been completed – with the works due to be finished by the end of March next year.

They will cover from the Kingsway toll booths to the M53 viaduct.

4. Huge project to rewire Kingsway lighting complete

Major £7.5m works to rewire and replace lighting in the Wallasey tunnels have been completed, with a formal opening having taken place in June.

The authority said the new lights would provide "more efficient infrastructure and substantially reducing running and maintenance costs".

That would mean a lifespan of at least 20 years for the LED lights, as well as reduced CO2 emissions by 450 tonnes a year, and savings of £90,000 a year.

The old electrical infrastructure has also been replaced with new cables installed in the tunnel below the road surface, making them easier to access for maintenance.

5. New traffic control system to help in case of accidents

A new system allowing the tunnels’ operators better facilities for controlling traffic during incidents is currently being developed.

6. A better website

Combined authority officials said in the document that the new site went live in June, and while that date was “later than programme”, the new website is “much more functional for customers”, and initial teething problems were being resolved.