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8:32 PM 16th May 2019
cars

Vital Repair Work On Westbound M62

 
M62 weekend closure scheduled for June

Drivers advised to plan ahead

Highways England will be carrying out essential repair work on the westbound M62 over a full weekend in June, improving safety for the thousands of drivers who use this important trans-Pennine route every day.

Ardsley Railway Bridge, which sits between junctions 29 and 28 of the westbound M62, needs to be re-waterproofed to maintain the bridge and prevent it from deteriorating. Waterproofing a bridge protects the concrete from slowly being damaged by rainwater and road salt. The motorway will be fully closed westbound from 8pm on Friday 14 June to 5am on Monday 17 June.

To minimise the impact of the closure on drivers in the region, the work has been scheduled to take place during the summer when traffic flows are lower and when there are no major events taking place in the city. By shutting the westbound carriageway fully at the weekend, Highways England’s team of engineers can work around the clock to complete the repairs as quickly as possible.

Highways England project manager Dan Edwards said:

“Safety is our top priority and with that in mind, it’s crucial that we carry out this repair work now to stop the bridge deteriorating to a point that it could become a safety issue.

“We have worked closely with Leeds City Council to choose a weekend that doesn’t conflict with any major events, and we have selected a time of year when we see less traffic. Picking a weekend in June also gives us the best chance of getting the dry weather we need to carry out the waterproofing.

“We understand a full closure of the westbound M62 will cause disruption, so we are letting people know five weeks in advance in order that drivers can start planning their journeys. We will be putting up signs on all the motorways across the area and have been in discussions with local organisations about our plans.”

The work, which won’t always be visible to passing drivers because the new water proofing materials need time to set, includes installing new drainage, resurfacing the bridge and reapplying the white lines and reflective road studs.

The diversion for drivers wishing to continue west will be to head north on the M1 and along the M621 before re-joining the M62 at junction 27. Drivers wanting to go only as far as junction 28 on the M62 can leave the M621 at junction 1.

Lofthouse Interchange has been identified as a potential congestion point over the weekend, so to help drivers travelling west on the M62 the following closures will be put in place:

M1 northbound exit slip road at Lofthouse – drivers intending to travel east on the M62 will be diverted up to junction 44 and back to junction 42 where they can access the M62 eastbound carriageway via the eastbound entry slip road

M62 eastbound exit slip road at Lofthouse – drivers intending to travel south on the M1 will be diverted up to junction 30 of the M62 and back to junction 29 where they will take the westbound exit slip road and re-join the M1 south via the entry slip road.

Traffic is likely to be busiest between 10am and 5pm on the Saturday and Sunday, and Highways England advises drivers to allow an extra 30 minutes for their journey during these peak hours and 15 minutes outside of the peak times when travelling this stretch of road.