28 June 2012
A maintenance programme along the A627(M) between Rochdale and Oldham in Greater Manchester is to get underway next week.
All the work in the 326,000 pound Highways Agency project will be done overnight to minimise inconvenience to motorway users. The work includes filling pot holes, repairing fretting and cracking in the carriageway surface, renewal of road markings and road studs.
The project also involves replacing any worn bridge expansion joints, concrete repairs and inspection of the carriageway for damaged waterproofing and carrying out repairs to that where necessary.
The work is due to start on Monday (2 July) with work over 24 nights before the scheme completion date of Wednesday 1 August.
The project involves a series of phased overnight lane or full carriageway closures between 10pm and 5am on weekdays and 10pm and 7am on weekends.
Although the hard shoulder, with a 50mph speed limit in place, will be used as a running lane where possible, some overnight closures of the main carriageway will be needed at times. Different slip road closures over various phases of the work will also be needed.
The work will be carried out in six phases over four miles of the route between Junction 1 at the Oldham end and Junction 4 near Rochdale.
Phase one and two involves the total closure of the southbound or northbound carriageway between Junctions 3 and 4 - with the southbound first, for six nights, followed by the northbound carriageway for four nights.
Phase three, over four nights, will focus around Junction 2 of the motorway with the closure of the roundabout, access and entry slips and both the westbound and eastbound carriageways of the Slattocks link road.
During the fourth phase the northbound access slip at Junction 1 will be closed to traffic for two nights.
The final two phases of work involves closing the southbound carriageway and northbound carriageway through Junction 2 for five and three nights respectively.
All diversions will be clearly-signed.
Highways Agency project sponsor Jakub Malaj, said, "This is routine maintenance designed to give the motorway an engineering 'spring clean' and ensure that drivers can continue to enjoy safe, smooth and reliable journeys. Traffic volumes along the A627(M) are very light overnight anyway but we have worked hard to minimise any inconvenience to drivers by combining eight different projects in one scheme and by carrying out the work in phases."
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