Press release

Planned road works in the North West: summary for Monday 16 November to Sunday 22 November 2015

Planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week.

This news article was withdrawn on

These bulletins are now sent directly to journalists. Contact the Highways England Press Office directly to be added to the circulation list.

Otherwise you can check on the live roadworks search tool.

The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of Friday 13 November and could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with the aim of causing as little disruption as possible.

M53 Ellesmere Port

Bridge repairs are taking place and some lane closures will remain in place on the slip roads until the project is completed by the end of November.

M56 junction 12 Runcorn

The eastbound exit slip road at junction 12 for Runcorn and Widnes closed on 12 October for up to 5 weeks as work continues on the Mersey Gateway bridge project. Drivers will need to travel to junction 11 at Daresbury to join the westbound M56 and travel back to the westbound exit slip road at junction 12 to leave the motorway for Runcorn and Widnes. The slip road is due to re-open on Monday (16 November). More information is available on the scheme page.

M6 junction 19-20 overnight enabling works

Overnight work to prepare for forthcoming bridge repairs will start on Monday (16 November). The preparations require Monday to Friday overnight, 8pm to 5am, closures of the hard shoulder and lane 1 in each direction.

M6 junction 20A to M56 (Lymm Interchange)

The link road from the southbound M6 onto the westbound and eastbound M56 will close totally from 9pm on Sunday evening (15 November) to 5am on Monday morning (16 November) while a vehicle restraint barrier badly damaged during an incident is replaced. Drivers will be sent down to junction 19 at Knutsford for diversions. Drivers needing to join the westbound M56 can then do so from the northbound M6 at Lymm Interchange. Drivers seeking to join the eastbound M56 can do so from the northbound A556 and Bowdon roundabout.

M60 junction 8 Sale to M62 junction 20 Rochdale

A major scheme is taking place to cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and the M62 in Greater Manchester. The scheme will require some overnight closures affecting the full carriageway and slip roads, with a 50mph limit in place for the safety of workers and drivers. The project is due to be completed in autumn 2017. Weekend work to remove large gantries between junction 19 and junction 20 of the M62 begins tomorrow with a full overnight carriageway between 9pm tomorrow (Saturday (14 November) and 10am on Sunday (15 November) and again from 9pm on Saturday 21 November to 10am on Sunday 22 November. More information is available at the project webpage.

M62 junction 10/M6 junction 21a Croft interchange

The exit slip roads from the westbound M62 onto the northbound M6, and from the eastbound M62 onto the southbound M6, will be closed overnight, between 8pm and 6am while repair work takes place on the motorway bridges. Drivers will be able to follow clearly signed diversion routes. Narrow lanes and a temporary 50mph speed limit will also be in place on the slip roads during the day. The scheme is due to be completed in December.

A5036 Litherland

A £1.7 million project to resurface the main road to the Port of Liverpool started on 24 August and is due to finish in February. A 2 ½ mile stretch of the A5036 is being resurfaced from the junction with the M57 and the M58, known as Switch Island, to the junction with Hawthorne Road. All of the work will be carried out overnight to keep disruption to drivers to a minimum, and clearly-signed diversions will be in place when short stretches of the road are closed.

A556 Knutsford to Bowdon

A £192 million project is being carried out to create a new dual carriageway linking the M56 to the M6 in Cheshire. A temporary 40mph speed limit is currently in place between Bucklow Hill and Bowdon, and the new dual carriageway is expected to open in winter 2016/17. The single slip road (from the southbound A556 onto the westbound M56) at junction 8 of the M56 closed in September for bridge works associated with the wider project. The slip road is now due to re-open early in December.

More information is available on the project web page.

A585 Skippool to Singleton

Work began on 28 September on an 11 to 12 week scheme to improve drainage and footpaths along this section of the route. Work will take place around the clock but temporary traffic signals will only be used overnight. The project should be completed before Friday 18 December.

A590 Lindale

Work to replace the verge-side safety barrier along a dual carriageway section started on Monday (9 November) and will be completed by Sunday 20 December.

A590 Brettargh Holt

Wear and tear repairs along the westbound carriageway between Brettargh Holt roundabout and the junction with the A6 started on Monday (9 November) for around 6 weeks. The first phase of the work will be done using single lane closures on the westbound dual carriageway with a temporary speed limit of 40mph past the road works. Full overnight closures of the westbound carriageway are due to take place for up to 8 nights from Monday 7 December.

A66 Appleby

A £1.76 million carriageway reconstruction project near Crackenthorpe began in mid-October and will last until Sunday 20 December. Temporary traffic lights are in place – manually controlled during the day – and a 40mph speed limit will also be in place past the road works.

A66 Bassenthwaite Lake

A programme of work to update safety cameras and carry out rock face protection started on Tuesday 2 September. From today (13 November) a contraflow arrangement has been removed and replaced with a lane 1 closure on the eastbound carriageway.

A66 Troutbeck

A £500,000 project to remove a bottleneck west of Penrith was due to be completed on Sunday (8 November). The work will now be completed by Sunday 13 December. The work has involved widening the single lane carriageway to incorporate 2 new dedicated right turns into businesses on either side of the road – reducing queuing and shunt-style collisions.

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 November 2015