A decision on a huge motorway upgrade which would transform the network around the notoriously congested Simister Island will be made within weeks. The project, affecting the M60, M62 and M66 routes, would see a ‘northern loop’ built to create a new free flowing traffic section without the need for thousands of vehicles a day to use the current traffic light controlled roundabout.
A five lane section of the M60 on both sides between Prestwich and Simister (junctions 17 and 18) would be introduced. The M66 on the Bury side of the junction would be widened with new lanes introduced at the interchange and a second lane would be added from the M60 northbound to westbound anti-clockwise free flow link, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Simister Island interchange is one of the busiest motorway junctions in the north-west, used by around 90,000 vehicles a day. National Highways said the junction struggles with much higher volumes of traffic above what it was designed for, and as a result suffers from congestion and poor journey time reliability.
The infrastructure project has been through a lengthy period of ‘public examination’ by the Planning Inspectorate, which ended on March 12. The inspectorate said their recommendation report on the project will be submitted to the secretary of state no later than June 11.
Early estimates of project costs are between £207m and £340m and if the go ahead is given it would take around two years to build. During the public examination, many submissions were received opposing the plans, several of which cited environmental concerns.
National Highways have summarised their reasoning behind the proposals in planning documents saying the scheme was ‘great news for the local and regional economy’. They added: “The scheme will improve J18 of the M60 and facilitate the movement of traffic along the M60, M62 and M66 in the scheme area, contributing to more reliable and safer journeys through the junction.
(Pic: National Highways)
