A section of the busy Oldham Way will be closed throughout the evening and overnight for a week to allow roadworks to take place.
The road will be closed in both directions between the Manchester Road roundabout to Prince Street between 8pm and 5am. The closures will last from Monday, July 17 to Sunday, July 23.
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In a statement, Oldham council said: “Oldham Way is one of the busiest stretches of road in the borough and is used every day by thousands of vehicles. So it is fit for purpose and can be used for years to come, we need to carry out essential maintenance work on the bridges that support it at Waterloo Street and Wellington Street.
“The council knows this work is causing inconvenience and we apologise for that in advance. Please bear with us – this work will mean the bridges are in a good state of repair.”
When the road reopens on July 24 there will also be a change in the way it crosses over onto the opposite carriageway. Westbound traffic on Oldham Way will cross over to the eastbound side, between the onslip Road to Emmott Way and return back on to the westbound carriageway after Waterloo Street.
Wellington Street and Waterloo Street will remain closed underneath Oldham Way to all traffic until work is completed in late autumn. The council secured funding of £4.174m from the government to pay for the scheme.
It forms part of the council’s wider plan to refurbish all the bridges along Oldham Way – which were all built in the 1970s.
Additional repairs have also been agreed by leaders to take place on the flyover above Manchester Street Roundabout, officially named the ‘Manchester Street Viaduct’.
The decades-old structure is in a ‘poor and deteriorating condition’, according to officers. A study uncovered numerous problems, including water seepage through joints, concrete cracking, reinforcement corrosion and contaminated concrete.
A refurbishment programme has been agreed by leaders to ensure it can continue to be used by motorists and that it meets its intended lifespan of 120 years.
That work will involve concrete repairs and replacement of life-expired components such as expansion joints and bridge deck waterproofing to prevent deterioration of the structure in the future.
Designs and specifications for that section of the Oldham Way repairs will be developed in 2023/24 and physical work on the viaduct will start in 2025.
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