M62 to be shut in both directions for gantry installation

The motorway will be closed overnight tonight and tomorrow (June 3) between Junction 19 at Heywood and Junction 20 at Rochdale during the work.

Contractors for Highways England will carry out the work on the gantries, which will span both the east and westbound carriageways and are 59 metres-wide.

The closures will be in place from 10pm until 6am on both nights as part of the Smart Motorway upgrade scheme.

Under the scheme, the hard shoulder between Junction 18 and Junction 20 will be permanently converted into an extra lane on the M62.

Highways England project manager Stef Wilson said: “We started work on installing the new gantries last month and it’s going smoothly. It’s a very big job that calls for night closures in both directions, but then they’re very big structures. You really get a sense of their size when they are on the ground waiting to go up.

“We’re in quite an intensive phase of the project just now with a programme of overnight closures, so it’s important for people who use the motorway at night to plan their journeys.”