M6, M65 and A56 traffic warning as roadworks to cause half-term disruption

Another busy week on the roads is expected for Lancashire, albeit with potentially quieter rush hours as the school runs stop over half term.

As is expected, there’s plenty of roadworks and disruption planned across the county’s streets so it’s important to plan ahead to avoid being caught out. As well as any emergency repairs which may pop up, National Highways have a few works planned on our county’s roads and the surrounding areas.

The causes of these include essential repairs and upgrades. There are also works on the M6 which will affect those driving to and from Lancashire.

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A56 Bent Gate, Rawtenstall to M66 junction

Essential geotechnical works to install an 80-metre long retaining wall adjacent to the A56 southbound carriageway remains ongoing. The work will also new drainage, safety barriers and road signs improved and are part of essential repairs to improve safety and reliability.

Work is expected to run mid-July 2023 and includes full overnight closures of the A56 and M66 southbound carriageway, between the A56/A680/B6527 (Bent Gate, Rawtenstall) junction and M66 junction 1 near Summerseat. Work will take place overnight from Monday to Friday, between 8pm and 6am (extending to 7am on Saturday morning).

The diversion route uses the B6527 Market Street / Blackburn Road / Manchester Road and the A56 Manchester Road and to reduce disruption to residents along the diversion route, the M66/A56 will only be closed overnight in a southbound direction.

M65 between junctions 7 and 10

Work continues on the M65 to replace safety barriers that have reached the end of their serviceable life. Due to the weather and and technical delays, work will now be completed on Thursday, July 20.

The eastbound carriageway of the M65, between junctions 8 and 10 have been closed overnight, from 8pm to 6am, until Friday, July 16. Drivers are urged to follow the diversion routes signposted whilst the carriageway is shut.

M6 junctions 17 to 15

Safety barrier upgrades are being carried out along the M6 between junction 17 and junction 15 as the barrier here has reached the end of its serviceable life and now needs to be replaced. While the carriageway is closed to install traffic management for this work, resurfacing will also take place.

Work began in January and is expected to run until the end of June. Closures are due to run Monday-Fridays.

M6 junctions 18 and 19

Last month, a year long project started to carry out essential repair works on the 60-year-old River Dane bridge. The works will involve strengthening the piers, replacing the concrete with a hard-wearing material that will bring the bridge back up to current standards.

Engineers will use hydro demolition methods to remove older concrete and carry out phased concrete repairs to all the piers supporting the bridge .The work will be done below the motorway level. As a result, no traffic management will be in place on the road above. But while the area may not look different, please be aware that work is taking place below and the bridge is weakened.

To ensure safety, the load carrying capacity of the bridge will be reduced to a maximum of 44-tonne vehicles. Restrictions will allow all normal traffic to continue using the motorway without disruption. However, heavy loads will not be able to use the bridge and must use another route. Bridge weight restrictions will be in place from Monday 4 April 2022, for 24 months.

Following completion of the scheme in April 2024, heavy load restrictions will be removed. The bridge repairs will have a minimum design life of 50 years.

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