£14m M6 improvement project announced

ONE of the region’s busiest stretches of motorway is to be upgraded over the next 18 months at a cost of £14.5m.

Highways England said it would undertake eight projects on a section of the M6 between Knutsford and Lymm which should create safer and more reliable journey times for motorists.

Work on the project will begin on Friday December 4, and will last until early 2017. It  includes bridge repairs and support strengthening, a new concrete central reservation barrier, new steel verge barriers, drainage improvements and resurfacing.

The agency said the investment is one of the biggest maintenance projects of its kind undertaken anywhere in the North West in recent years.

The scheme will require five miles of road works including a 50mph speed limit and narrowed lanes, between junction 19 of the motorway at Knutsford and junction 20 at Lymm Services.

The work will coincide for a time with construction of the M6 junction 16 to 19 smart motorway project which is due to start early next year.

Highways England senior manager Andy Withington said: “This important investment in maintenance, wear and tear repairs and safety improvements is about delivering a safer and more reliable M6 for drivers. This work will complement the huge investment we’re making in the area with the smart motorway upgrade between junctions 16 and 19 and new A556 bypass.

“We’ve thought long and hard about the timing of the work given the proximity of the smart motorway project, but the bridge repairs are essential and by adding the other improvements we won’t need to go back this stretch of the motorway for several years.”

As well as some overnight carriageway closures to alter the temporary road layout at the start and end of construction and repair phases, there will be regular overnight lane closures, Highways England said.