A MAJOR motorway is to close for FIVE days for essential roadworks.
The road is used by up to 160,000 people a day.
The key section of the M62 motorway will be closed for two days in August.
The are of road affected is approximately eight miles north of Huddersfield and seven miles south of Bradford.
It will also be shut for a further three days in October to finalise the maintenance works.
Commuters are being urged to ensure they are aware of alternative routes on all dates to avoid disruption – and to avoid relying on sat navs.
The closures have arisen due to essential maintenance being required on a “culvert”, an enclosed channel that allows water to flow under a bridge at Junction 24.
Essential repairs
In a statement, National Highways said the road would need to be closed to replace and re-line the tunnels responsible for draining the motorway.
“We’re carrying out essential maintenance to a culvert that runs under the M62, at junctions 24 (Ainley Top),” said a spokesperson.
“”The culvert is being re-lined and repaired, which will give it the structural stability and increase the design life of the culvert by around 100 years.
“We’ll need to expose and reinstate the chambers in each side of the culvert, with a new chamber on the downstream end to make it easier to maintain and repair in the future.”
The full details of the closure are as follows:
- On August 28 and 29, the M62 eastbound will be closed overnight from 8pm to 6am between junctions 24 and 25. The central barrier will be removed and narrow lanes installed.
- There will be three full overnight closures in both directions on October 10, 11 and 12 to allow workers to crane lift the culvert liner into position.
The spokesperson warned nearby residents that some of the work “may be noisy” – although they will “do their best” to reduce disruption where possible.
They added that signed diversions will be in place during the closures.
Avoid confusion
To avoid any confusion, drivers are being warned to “not rely on satnavs”.
During the closures, vehicles will be diverted off the M62 at junction 24 eastbound via the A629, A643, A6107, A62 and A644.
Motorists are being warned that there will also be changes to the road layout, with narrow lanes introduced on the M62 eastbound.
These will be in place during the period of disruption and up to November 21.
There will also be a 50mph speed limit on this section of the road while the maintenance work is carried out.
Meanwhile, over on the railways ….
Two UK railway stations in the area are set to shut this month as part of an £11billion railway upgrade – and one of them won’t reopen until 2027.
It comes amid major investment in stations and trains across the country with services impacted in several parts of the UK.
The multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is a programme of railway improvements being carried out by Network Rail.
The aim is to improve customer journeys across the North and facilitate better transport links between towns and cities like Manchester and Leeds.
Now, as major work begins to take place in the railways across Huddersfield and Deighton, customers have been urged to plan ahead.
Gareth Hope, TRU sponsor, said: “This period marks one of the most significant phases of work on the Transpennine Route Upgrade to date, delivering vital improvements that will bring faster, more reliable journeys to customers for generations.”