Press release

New traffic lights to be installed at West Yorkshire junction

New traffic signals to be installed at Chain Bar roundabout on the M606/M62.

New traffic signals being installed this month at Chain Bar roundabout on the M606/M62 will help to enhance traffic flow through the roundabout.

These changes are part of a major upgrade which saw an extra lane opened before Christmas on the roundabout just off the M62 near Bradford. The overall investment in the scheme, which amounts to £11.03 million, will reduce congestion and increase capacity for the 70,000 drivers who use it every day.

To allow Highways England contractors to complete the installation of the new traffic light system, an overnight closure is required on the junction between 7pm and 9am on Saturday 14 January.

Highways England project manager Esref Ulas said:

The new traffic signals will complement the additional lane and help smooth the flow of traffic through this busy junction. To carry out this work safely and efficiently, we need to close the roundabout overnight on Saturday 14 January.

After this, we will continue to monitor the traffic signals to make sure they are working correctly and traffic is flowing through the junction quickly and safely.

During the first few days engineers will be on site to monitor the peak periods and make adjustments to the timing of the traffic lights where necessary.

We would like to thank drivers and the local community for their patience while this work is taking place. As part of the project the whole roundabout has been resurfaced together with improvements to the footways and just over a mile of new kerbing has been laid; 2 miles of white lining has been painted as well as a mile of new drainage installed.

Last month the decision was taken to postpone this work to avoid causing any disruption for drivers on the lead up to the Christmas period.

The additional fourth lane was opened to traffic on Saturday 3 December last year so that drivers could benefit from the increased capacity around the roundabout.

The lane for vehicles with two or more occupants that connects the M606 and M62 eastbound was suspended during construction to ease the congestion but has been reinstated now the extra lane has been opened.
Significant amount of earth to create the extra lane was retained on location to prevent extra lorry movements to and from site.

Over the next few weeks, contractors will be taking down the old traffic signals and completing the landscaping and footway work. These will be carried out at night when traffic levels are at their lowest.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Published 13 January 2017