Trunk A-road
A556 traffic and collisions
The A556 is a trunk A-road of 20.1 miles, from West Cheshire to East Cheshire. This page covers its traffic at 11 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 214m vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 29,125 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 67,085 M56 to M56/A56 roundabout
- HGV share 5.9% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 +0.1% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 151 15.5 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the A556?
On an average day in 2025, 29,125 vehicles passed each point on the A556, counting both directions. The busiest section is M56 to M56/A56 roundabout (East Cheshire), with 67,085 a day; the quietest listed is A54 Chester Road to A49Forest Road, with 12,130.
Busiest sections, 2025
M56 to M56/A56 roundabout carries 2.3 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| M56 to M56/A56 roundabout East Cheshire · 0.6 mi · HGVs 6.3% | 67,085 |
| A50 to M6 East Cheshire · 2.5 mi · HGVs 7.2% | 60,068 |
| M6 to A50 East Cheshire · 2.0 mi · HGVs 7.3% | 52,276 |
| A533 to A530 West Cheshire · 1.5 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 29,976 |
| At A533 West Cheshire · 0.5 mi · HGVs 3.6% | 26,979 |
| A5003 to M6 East Cheshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 7.4% | 25,794 |
| A530 to A559 West Cheshire · 2.2 mi · HGVs 6.6% | 24,329 |
| A559 to A5033 East Cheshire · 2.2 mi · HGVs 7.1% | 23,660 |
| A49 to A559 West Cheshire · 1.7 mi · HGVs 4.3% | 14,975 |
| A559 to A533 West Cheshire · 2.7 mi · HGVs 0.5% | 14,470 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
West Cheshire to East Cheshire · 20.1 miles
A556 traffic and collisions by section
11 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length.
Sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A54 Chester Road to A49Forest RoadWest Cheshire | 12,130 | 31 |
| 2 | A49 to A559West Cheshire | 14,975 | 9 |
| 3 | A559 to A533West Cheshire | 14,470 | 16 |
| 4 | At A533West Cheshire | 26,979 | fewer than 3 |
| 5 | A533 to A530West Cheshire | 29,976 | 7 |
| 6 | A530 to A559West Cheshire | 24,329 | 17 |
| 7 | A559 to A5033East Cheshire | 23,660 | 17 |
| 8 | A5003 to M6East Cheshire | 25,794 | 11 |
| 9 | M6 to A50East Cheshire | 52,276 | 24 |
| 10 | A50 to M6East Cheshire | 60,068 | fewer than 3 |
| 11 | M56 to M56/A56 roundaboutEast Cheshire | 67,085 | 13 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the A556 as the first road, placed on the nearest section by their recorded position; rates (per 100 million vehicle miles) are shown for sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more.
A556 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 76.7% of the vehicle miles on the A556. HGVs account for 5.9%, rising to 7.4% on A5003 to M6.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.6% |
| 2001 | 7.9% |
| 2002 | 7.9% |
| 2003 | 7.8% |
| 2004 | 7.7% |
| 2005 | 7.8% |
| 2006 | 7.5% |
| 2007 | 7.5% |
| 2008 | 7.2% |
| 2009 | 6.9% |
| 2010 | 7.3% |
| 2011 | 6.7% |
| 2012 | 6.6% |
| 2013 | 6.3% |
| 2014 | 6.3% |
| 2015 | 6.5% |
| 2016 | 6.5% |
| 2017 | 6.3% |
| 2018 | 6.5% |
| 2019 | 6.5% |
| 2020 | 8.7% |
| 2021 | 8.1% |
| 2022 | 6.7% |
| 2023 | 6.4% |
| 2024 | 5.9% |
| 2025 | 5.9% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
A556 traffic trend
Traffic on the A556 came to 214 million vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is about the same as in 2019, before the pandemic, and down 5.7% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is down 0.5% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 170m |
| 2001 | 178m |
| 2002 | 181m |
| 2003 | 186m |
| 2004 | 189m |
| 2005 | 185m |
| 2006 | 185m |
| 2007 | 183m |
| 2008 | 185m |
| 2009 | 178m |
| 2010 | 171m |
| 2011 | 171m |
| 2012 | 171m |
| 2013 | 169m |
| 2014 | 174m |
| 2015 | 182m |
| 2016 | 186m |
| 2017 | 204m |
| 2018 | 216m |
| 2019 | 213m |
| 2020 | 159m |
| 2021 | 162m |
| 2022 | 191m |
| 2023 | 203m |
| 2024 | 206m |
| 2025 | 214m |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 24,698 |
| 2001 | 25,821 |
| 2002 | 26,260 |
| 2003 | 26,914 |
| 2004 | 27,394 |
| 2005 | 26,743 |
| 2006 | 26,745 |
| 2007 | 26,492 |
| 2008 | 26,945 |
| 2009 | 25,982 |
| 2010 | 24,891 |
| 2011 | 24,968 |
| 2012 | 24,962 |
| 2013 | 24,642 |
| 2014 | 25,348 |
| 2015 | 26,479 |
| 2016 | 27,034 |
| 2017 | 28,425 |
| 2018 | 29,297 |
| 2019 | 28,932 |
| 2020 | 21,515 |
| 2021 | 21,938 |
| 2022 | 26,088 |
| 2023 | 27,728 |
| 2024 | 28,052 |
| 2025 | 29,125 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
The chart counts the whole road as it was each year, so new or renumbered stretches move it. The percentage changes compare only count points present in both years (83.1% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 2 of the 11 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
A556 collisions
Police recorded 151 collisions with the A556 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 40 of them fatal or serious, including 6 fatal. That is 15.5 per 100 million vehicle miles, lower than the 31.5 for all A-roads in Great Britain. On average there were 1.5 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Up 107.7% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | 6 |
| 2022 | 34 | 7 |
| 2023 | 24 | 6 |
| 2024 | 27 | 13 |
| 2025 | 18 | 9 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
Sections with the highest collision rates
Per 100 million vehicle miles, 2021 to 2025. Sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more collisions.
| Section | Per 100m vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| A54 Chester Road to A49Forest Road West Cheshire · 31 collisions | 53.5 |
| A5003 to M6 East Cheshire · 11 collisions | 29.9 |
| A559 to A533 West Cheshire · 16 collisions | 23.4 |
| M56 to M56/A56 roundabout East Cheshire · 13 collisions | 19.7 |
| A559 to A5033 East Cheshire · 17 collisions | 18.6 |
| A530 to A559 West Cheshire · 17 collisions | 18.1 |
| M6 to A50 East Cheshire · 24 collisions | 14.1 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 33 collisions were recorded at junctions where the A556 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. How we count collisions
Council areas on the A556
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- West Cheshire
- East Cheshire
Planned closures on the A556 in England
National Highways has 12 planned closures on the A556 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, all of them starting in that period. 6 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 12 start between 7pm and 6am.
-
Carriageway M56 Eastbound Jct 7 entry slip road closure
-
Lane or slip M56 Eastbound Lanes 2 and 3 closure (MP 22/0 to 20/1)
-
Lane or slip A556 Northbound Lane 2 closure (MP 5/7 to 6/7)
-
Lane or slip M56 Eastbound Lanes 1 and 2 closure (MP 25/5 to 20/7)
-
Lane or slip M56 Eastbound Lanes 1 and 2 closure (MP 25/5 to 20/7)
-
Lane or slip A556 Southbound from B5569 to Jct 19 Lane 1 closure
-
Carriageway M56 Eastbound Jct 7 entry slip road closure
-
Carriageway M56 Eastbound Jct 7 entry slip road closure
4 more planned closures in this period are not shown.
Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK
Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 Updated
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic counts and vehicle mix | Road traffic statistics (AADF by count point) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2000 to 2025 | 11 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 151 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Planned closures | Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways | 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 | 2,304 planned closure schemes | 16 September 2026 |
- Annual average daily flow (AADF) is the average number of vehicles passing a point on a typical day of the year, both directions combined.
- Vehicle miles are AADF multiplied by link length and 365, summed over every count point link on the road.
- Sections join count point links between junctions, using the link lines in DfT’s major road database.
- STATS19 covers personal injury collisions reported to the police. Damage-only collisions are not included, and not every injury collision is reported.
- Serious and slight figures are DfT’s adjusted estimates, which allow for police forces moving to injury-based reporting.
- Counts of one or two collisions below Great Britain level are shown as “fewer than 3”.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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