Highways Agency

The Project

Our Problem

The anticlockwise exit bridge taking traffic towards the M56 carries around 30,000 vehicles a  day. The clockwise exit bridge carrying traffic heading towards Manchester carries around 8,000 vehicles a day.

The number and weight of vehicles using these bridges has increased since these bridges were designed and built so we need to improve them.

Our Solution

Both bridges need to undergo significant engineering work to enable them to carry all types of vehicles, from motorbikes to the heaviest lorries, now and into the future. When we’ve finished improving the bridges they’ll look almost identical to how they do now.

When are we doing the work?

Work will start on 11th July 2008 and we expect it to take 9 months to complete.

How will we manage traffic?

For safety reasons we have imposed a 7.5 tonne weight restriction and a 2 metre width restriction on the anticlockwise exit onto the A5103 going towards the M56 (yellow route on the plan).

There will be some lane restrictions on this slip road during the evenings and at night and at times we will need to close the slip road completely at the weekend. These closures will be advertised in advance and clearly signposted diversion routes will be in place.

The clockwise exit slip road 9 (dark orange on the plan) will remain as one lane. We’re not imposing any weight or width restrictions on this slip road although the layout of the lanes will change during the work.

You can find out about the diversion routes by visiting the 'Diversion Map' page. Additionally you can download a PDF version of this content and diversion map below:

• M60 Junction 5 Leaflet (PDF 344.4KB)