The M62 motorway is set for a historic closure in both directions over two weekends in September.
It will mark the first time in living memory that the vital route – carrying approximately 120,000 vehicles daily – will be shut down for such an extended period of planned work.
Network Rail is undertaking a £22m project to replace a 42-metre-long, 2,000-tonne railway bridge near Rochdale.
The closures, between junctions 18 and 20 eastbound and junctions 19 and 20 westbound, will run over the weekends of 6 September and 20 September. There will also be nightly closures between junctions 19 and 20 from from 9 to 20 September.
The shutdown follows a similar disruption on the M25 in Surrey in March, where a five-mile stretch was closed for three days, causing significant delays.
Some had feared there would also be major traffic on local streets as drivers looked to get around closures but that did not materialise. Instead, business owners and residents near the M25 closure described the area as being “surprisingly quiet”.
When are the M62 weekend closures in September?
The closures are on the eastbound carriageway between J18 and J20 and the westbound carriageway between J19 and J20.
The motorway will be closed in both directions from 9pm on Friday 6 September to 6am on Monday 9 September and from 9pm on Friday 20 September to 6am on Monday 23 September.
From Monday 9 September until Friday 20 September, there will be nightly closures of the M62 between J19 and J20 from 9pm to 6am.
M62 closures diversion route – where will drivers be sent?
Due to the timings of the work over weekends, different closure and diversion arrangements will be in place for the westbound and eastbound carriageways – with the eastbound carriageway being closed from junction 18 of the M62 at Simister Island interchange to junction 20 of the M62 at Rochdale.
The westbound carriageway will be closed between junction 20 at Rochdale and junction 19 at Heywood.
The diversion for eastbound drivers will use the strategic road network with drivers from the M66 or clockwise M60 and reaching Simister Island travelling to junction 21 of the M60 at Chadderton where they should then use the northbound A663 (Broadway) and northbound A627M to join the M62 at junction 20.
Drivers diverted off the westbound M62 at junction 20 will be sent back onto the motorway via Middleton – using the southbound A627(M), southbound A664 Rochdale Road and northbound A6046 Hollin Lane, re-joining the M62 at junction 19.
What’s the advice for drivers?
Motorists are advised to avoid the closed section of the M62 during the two weekends by delaying journeys or planning alternative routes.
National Highways has set up a webpage to keep commuters, businesses and other M62 users up to date with progress and planned closures related to the Network Rail project including diversion information
Network Rail has urged drivers heading across the Pennines over the two weekends to plan journeys – including checking for congestion or incidents before setting out. Alternative trans-Pennine routes include the A69 between Carlisle and Newcastle, A66 Penrith to Scotch Corner and the Manchester to Sheffield link (M67/A57/A628/A616).
Gary Farrell, National Highways’ senior network planner (resilience), said: “Anyone who does need to use the M62 over the two weekends should follow the official diversions and not rely on sat nav advice.
“As well as working closely to coordinate lane and carriageway closures with Network Rail we have or will be using as many opportunities as possible to complete routine maintenance at the same time – reducing the need for our own lane and carriageway closures at other times.”
