M62 to close at Wakefield this weekend as vital repair work carried out

The motorway will be closed between junction 29 (Lofthouse) and junction 28 (Tingley) while work is carried out to re-waterproof Ardsley railway bridge.

The work, which was postponed in June because of bad weather, includes installing new drainage, resurfacing the bridge and reapplying the white lines.

Waterproofing a bridge protects the concrete from slowly being damaged by rainwater and road salt.

The motorway will be fully closed westbound from 8pm on Friday, September 6 to 5am on Monday, September 9, weather permitting.

Highways England project manager Dan Edwards said: “We’ve worked closely with Leeds City Council to choose a weekend that doesn’t conflict with any major events. We understand a full closure of the westbound M62 will cause disruption, and I would advise drivers to plan their journeys.

“Traffic is likely to be busiest between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September, so drivers should allow an extra 30 minutes for their journey during these peak hours and 15 minutes outside of the peak times when travelling this stretch of road.”

The diversion for drivers wishing to continue west will be to head north on the M1 and along the M621 before re-joining the M62 at junction 27.

Drivers wanting to go only as far as junction 28 on the M62 can leave the M621 at junction 1.

Lofthouse interchange has been identified as a potential congestion point, so to help drivers travelling west on the M62 the following closures will be put in place:

• M1 northbound exit slip road at Lofthouse – those travelling east on the M62 will be diverted up to junction 44 and back to junction 42 where they can access the M62 eastbound carriageway via the eastbound entry slip road.

• M62 eastbound exit slip road at Lofthouse – those travelling south on the M1 will be diverted up to junction 30 of the M62 and back to junction 29 where they will take the westbound exit slip road and re-join the M1 south via the entry slip road.

For more details about the upcoming closures visit www.trafficengland.com or follow Highways England’s regional Twitter feed at @HighwaysYORKS.