Part of M56 to close for weekend next month due to upgrade work

Part of the M56 will close for a weekend next month for final upgrade work. The motorway will be shut between 9pm on Friday September 9 and 6am on Monday September 12.

Following this, the road will be open to traffic at 60 mph with extra lanes running both east and westbound, in place of the old hard shoulders.

The eastbound M56 will be closed from junction 9 at Lymm interchange with the M6 to junction 5 for Manchester Airport. The westbound carriageway will be closed from junction 5 to junction 8 at Bowdon.

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Part of the westbound M56 is also planned for closure the week before between junction 5 and junction 7. This part of the motorway will be shut from 9pm on Friday September 2 to 6am on Sunday September 4 and again from 9pm on Sunday September 4 to 6am on Monday September 5.

Clearly-signed diversions will be in place and access to the airport is to be continued via the westbound M56 at junction 5. During the weekend closure, access to junction 5 westbound on the M56 will be continued, but there are also diversions in place.

A westbound diversion will include travelling on the M60, M62 and M6 while drivers who planned on using the M56 eastbound, either heading towards Manchester city centre or the airport, will use the M6, M62 and M60.

Furthermore, for people travelling to the airport overnight from the West Midlands, Cheshire and North Wales, two diversions will be in place one from junction 9 of the M56 at Lymm and the other, a local diversion from junction 7 at Altrincham.

The work being carried out during the weekend closure includes: resurfacing, completing the new concrete central safety