Work resumes on M60 resurfacing

Drivers on the M60 between junctions 19 at Middleton and 23 at Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester face intermittent disruption until February 2012.

The first stage of repairs was completed in December and Highways Agency contractors will now be concentrating on other parts of the carriageway to finish the work. The second and final stage of the work will start on Friday 13 May and is expected to be substantially completed in December with some smaller works continuing into February of next year.

Work will be largely confined to weekends only, the agency said. However, to speed up completion of the project, some weekday daytime and overnight working will take place between the end of July and the end of August when traffic volumes are lighter because of the school holidays.

Over the next few weeks, repairs will be concentrated on sections of the anti-clockwise carriageway between Junctions 19 at Broadway and south of Junction 22 at Hollinwood.

This part of the work involves a weekend closure of the anti-clockwise carriageway between Junctions 19 and 23. The anti-clockwise carriageway will close at 9pm on Friday 13 May and not re-open until 5am on Monday 16 May and at the same times over subsequent weekends in this first of five phases in the second stage of the works.

However, during the closures the motorway will remain open to anti-clockwise drivers with a contraflow arrangement in place allowing two lanes to run in both directions.

For the safety of drivers and roadworkers a 40 mph speed restriction will be in place through the works and this speed limit will be enforced with average speed cameras in operation.

There will also be some localised mid-week overnight working during the week beginning Sunday 15 May.

Matt Sweeting, the Highways Agency's Asset Delivery Manager, said, "This is important work to complete resurfacing of the M60 in this part of Greater Manchester. It was originally envisaged that we would not be able to complete this work until perhaps 2013 but through flexible scheduling and innovations developed during last year's works and planning, we are now aiming to finish this work within the current financial year.

"We will be working hard to minimise disruption and inconvenience to drivers and residents and to ensure they are kept informed about progress with the scheme."

• More details and regular progress reports will be posted at www.highways.gov.uk/m60resurfacing19-23