National Highways M60 Simister Island work reaches major milestone

Work to deliver the long-awaited M60 Junction 18 Simister Island Interchange is under way, with the next major milestone set to be the demolition of four huge concrete gantries over the motorway.

This work is being delivered by National Highways and partners Costain and forms part of a major project to upgrade the interchange, used by more than 90,000 vehicles every day and providing a key link between the M60, M62 and M66.

The gantries carry motorway signage over the M60 and together weigh around 450 tonnes. One steel gantry will also be removed during the works.

Nicola Eastwell, National Highways Project Manager, said:

“The M60 Simister Island scheme will create extra capacity, improve traffic flows and support future housing, employment and economic growth across the city region.

“The removal of these gantries is an important next step in delivering the scheme. We understand the inconvenience this work will cause and would like to thank the local community, including road users, for their continued support and patience while we complete this work.”

The concrete gantries range from 22.75m to 33.25m in length and stand around 7m tall. Each concrete gantry weighs between 90 and 120 tonnes, with a combined weight of around 450 tonnes.

They are being removed having reached the end of their operational life and will be replaced with new ones designed around the updated junction layout.

To enable this work to be undertaken safely, the M60 will be closed in both directions between junctions 17 and 18.

The closures will take place during the following times:

· 8pm on Saturday 26 September until 6am on Monday 28 September.

· Saturday 10 October until Monday 12 October

Westbound/anticlockwise 10pm on Saturday to 6am Monday Eastbound/clockwise 11.59pm on Saturday to 6am Monday.

The work follows the successful removal of two steel gantries on the M66 during overnight weekend closures during the summer. Once the M60 gantries have all been removed, it will mark the completion of this phase of the Simister Island scheme and another significant milestone in its delivery.

The weekends have been carefully chosen to reduce the impact on road users as much as possible. However, delays to journeys are expected, and motorists are urged to plan ahead, allow extra time and, where possible, avoid the M60 between junctions 17 and 18 during the closures.

Diversions will be in place and National Highways is working closely with Transport for Greater Manchester, local authorities and partners to keep disruption to a minimum. Diversion routes will be clearly signposted and full information about the diversion routes can be found on our website here Live traffic information is available at https://nationalhighways.co.uk/ or from National Highways’ 24-7 customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000. Updates will also be posted to @HighwaysNWest – National Highways’ regional X feed and social media channels.