A nine-mile stretch of motorway near Wigan is set for overnight closures next week while major works take place. National Highways is currently carrying out works between junctions 23 and 26 of the M6, between the M58 at Orrell and the East Lancs Road at Haydock.
Gantries are being installed so new electronic signs can be fitted, as part of an upgrade along the stretch. A series of overnight closures will take place to allow the work to take place, starting next Monday (January 30) and running through February.
A spokesperson for National Highways said: "A major phase of National Highways’ upgrade of the M6 between Warrington and Wigan is underway with gantries needed for electronic signs being installed along the northern section of the project. Earlier this month the project team started installing gantries between junction 23 (Haydock) and junction 26 (Orrell).
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"To continue this work there will be a series of overnight closures of either the southbound or northbound carriageway starting on Monday (January 30). In all, 65 new gantries are being installed along the motorway between junction 21a and junction 26.
"Ten of the new structures are super-span gantries providing overhead signs across both carriageways. Next week’s work also includes installing new safety barriers, completing drainage and finishing resurfacing of the new lane one in both the southbound and northbound carriageways."
To allow the larger gantries to be installed safely, the northbound M6 between junction 23 and junction 26 will be closed from 9pm to 6am next Monday and again on Wednesday and Thursday nights (February 1 and 2). Southbound carriageway closures between junction 26 and junction 23 - again from 9pm to 6am each night - will be taking place on Tuesday and Friday (January 31 and February 3).
The southbound carriageway will also be closed overnight on Saturday, February 4, from 9pm to 7am the following morning (Sunday). Further overnight carriageway closures will be taking place in mid-February.
National Highways says clearly-signed diversions will be in place, diverting traffic away from the M6 onto the M58, A570 and A580 near St Helens. More information can be found online here while live traffic updates will be available on Twitter @HighwaysNWest, at www.trafficengland.com or by calling 0300 123 5000.
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