Overnight closures for eastbound M56 at Altrincham this weekend
Drivers using the Manchester-bound M56 around Altrincham this weekend are being advised a short section of the eastbound carriageway will be closed for up to four nights as work to complete a £4.2 million project to tackle congestion nears completion.
The Highways Agency is adding an extra lane on the eastbound carriageway at junction 7 for approximately one mile from where the eastbound entry slip road joins the motorway - removing the need for drivers to quickly merge with other traffic.
To help complete the scheme, work across the carriageways will be taking place this weekend between 10pm and 5am each night from Friday (27 March). The work is expected to take 3 nights but may be extended to 4 nights – meaning the resurfacing work will be completed and the carriageway re-opened after the final overnight closure on Monday or Tuesday morning (30 or 31 March).
During each night’s closure, the eastbound carriageway will be closed between junction 7 and junction 6 at Hale. As well as drivers already on the eastbound M56 the closure will affect drivers on the northbound A556 and anyone else seeking to use the roundabout at Bowdon to join the M56 at junction 7. Drivers will instead be diverted away from the motorway along the northbound A56 and A560 through Altrincham and Timperley respectively and then the eastbound A560 through Baguley to rejoin the M56 at junction 2 at Sharston.
Drivers are urged to check travel conditions before setting out on journeys.
The Highways Agency provides live traffic information via its website www.highways.gov.uk/traffic, local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile platforms, such as the iPhone. Local Twitter services are also available at @HAtraffic_nwest, @HAtraffic_yorks and @HAtraffic_pen9 for transpennine routes.
Providing they can do so safely, road users can also call the Highways Agency Information Line (0300 123 5000) to keep up to date with road conditions.
The project at junction 7 of the M56 is among 121 in the government’s £317 million ‘pinch-point’ initiative - a two year programme of targeted work being carried out alongside larger schemes and routine maintenance and improvements on motorways and major A roads.
The pinch-point programme, devised with the input of councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships, is designed to help stimulate new development and local economic growth by improving road safety and tackling congestion bottle necks. In all, 28 projects, worth £66 million, are taking place across the North West.
More details and updates on the project are available on the Highways Agency’s website at: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/M56-Junction-7-Eastbound-Improvement.
General enquiries
Members of the public should contact the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000.
Media enquiries
Journalists should contact the Highways Agency press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.