Work completed on stretch of M56 during full weekend closure

The work was carried out on the motorway upgrade during a complete weekend closure between junctions nine for the M6 at Lymm Interchange and five for Manchester Airport.

As part of the £85million project, two new ‘super-span’ gantries, weighing 60 tonnes straddling eight lanes of motorway traffic, were installed.

The motorway was closed while the work took place

Drivers on longer journeys were diverted using the M6, M62 and M60, while local diversions were also in place for people living between Altrincham, Hale and Manchester Airport.

National Highways project manager Clare Bond says the patience and support of motorway users was central to making the weekend a success.

She said: “The installation of the two huge gantries was the most eye-catching operation over the whole weekend, but we also got on with dozens of other smaller tasks.

A large crane was utilised to install the gantry

“Our operational colleagues at National Highways, who are responsible for the day-to-day running of the motorway, also came in over the weekend to conduct condition surveys and do other work.

“This means they will not have to close lanes or carriageways at another time.

“We have been planning this closure over many months, and the support and patience of drivers was crucial to everything going so smoothly.

“The motorway upgrade will tackle congestion on a key commuter and airport route.”

As well as the installation of the gantries, with the help of a giant 250-tonne crane, other work included laying cables, ducts and drainage channels and erecting off-side safety barrier and kerbs.

Further work unrelated to the project but completed during the closure included safety barrier repairs, the replacement of signs on existing gantries and routine drainage, structure and road condition surveys.

A full motorway closure was in place over the course of a weekend

As well as installing new technology, National Highways is converting the hard shoulders to add an extra running lane to both the westbound and eastbound carriageways.

A new central reservation concrete safety barrier, low noise surfacing, four emergency areas and technology to alert the control centre to breakdowns and incidents will also have been installed before the extra lanes open to drivers by the end of the year.

The gantry utilises technoligy to improve drivers' journeys

The roll-out of new all lane running ‘smart’ motorways was paused by the Government in January to allow five years’ worth of safety and economic data to be collected.

However, work on stretches already under construction – such as the M56 – is continuing because these stretches are more than half completed.