A Yorkshire interchange at the centre of the M1 and M62 motorway network will undergo essential maintenance work later this month, Highways England has announced.
The Lofthouse Interchange, positioned at the M1, junction 42/M62 junction 29 near Leeds, will close for eight weeks to allow for work on a £3.6 million on the roundabout’s four bridges.
The route is a crucial intersection of the M1 and M62 motorways, linking Leeds, Hull, Sheffield and York. The bridges carry 45,000 vehicles per day.
Highways England’s Project Manager, Russel McLean said: “We understand completely that this work is going to have a large impact on drivers. We have looked at various options to complete his work and have spoken to local businesses and stakeholders to gather views. The best option we have is to close the roundabout for eight weeks. The alternative would be to carry out the work in separate sections but this would cause more disruption and require three, six-week closures.
“The roundabout has been experiencing problems with the bridge joints over the last few years. This scheme will allow us to carry out these essential repairs and do additional work to minimise the amount of disruption in future years,” he added.
The work will replace the interchange’s 20 bridge joints, five on each bridge. These help the bridge move in a controlled way when traffic passes over it and during severe weather. The bridges will also be re-waterproofed which will protect the structure and the roundabout will be resurfaced. All the work will create a safe, reliable future journey for drivers using this junction.
