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Closure of Bowdon junction of M56 to continue into December – at least six weeks longer than planned

The closure of the Bowdon junction of the M56 is set to continue until at least early December – six weeks longer than originally planned.

The closure of the Bowdon junction of the M56 is set to continue until at least early December – six weeks longer than originally planned.

The work, which began on September 21st, had originally been scheduled to last for four weeks.

But two weeks ago, Highways England admitted that the slip road from the A556 onto the westbound M56 would be remaining closed until the middle of November after the discovery of an “uncharted water pipe”.

And now a Highways England spokesman has told us that work to address the situation “has not gone as smoothly as we’d hoped”, and that the road would remain closed until “early December”.

A new aerial shot of the bypass project, released by Highways England
A new aerial shot of the bypass project, released by Highways England

The spokesman did add however that work that would have required a further closure in February was now being brought forward into the current closure, having also taken into account the “forecast of a severe winter”.

A statement added: “This will actually mean the total closure time will be reduced so leading to less inconvenience to motorists and prevents introducing diversions in poor weather which could be more hazardous for motorists and also lead to construction delays.”

The work is currently requiring Altrincham-based drivers to access the westbound M56 via the Hale Barns junction, or negotiate a diversion through Lymm.

Another new aerial shot of the work
Another new aerial shot of the work

Meanwhile, Highways England will be staging an open day to mark the first anniversary of the complex, £192m project, which is creating a new four-mile bypass joining the M56 with the M6 in order alleviate traffic on the A556.

Highways England and Costain – the lead contractors for the project – will throw open the doors of the main site office near Lymm for a public exhibition and open day this Saturday, November 7th.

Highways England project manager Jonathan Stokes said: “We’re working really hard to keep local people and road users informed about progress with the project as well as different phases of traffic management.

Watch a visualisation of how the finished work will look:

“Saturday’s open day will be a chance for anyone with an interest in the new road to come and have a look at how work is progressing and to talk to us face to face about any issues or concerns.”

The open day is being staged between 10am and 2pm at the main construction site office along the A56 Lymm Road at Little Bollington, just off Bowdon roundabout.

Visitors will have a chance to discuss the exciting plans for the existing A556 once it is made into a local road and take a look at some of the machinery and vehicles being used during construction of the new road.

Another new aerial of the work
Another new aerial of the work

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