Holidaymakers are being warned to leave extra time for the drive to Manchester airport for late night or early morning flights due to work about to begin on the M56. The work is due to begin on Thursday July 14 and end on Friday August 5, and will see one busy section of the M56 closed.
The message is being aimed at anyone driving from areas west of the airport, including the West Midlands, North Wales and some parts of Cheshire. National Highways have confirmed that there will be weeknight closures eastbound on the M56 between junction six at Hale Barnes and junction 8 at Bowdon.
The junction for Manchester Airport, junction 5, has remained open throughout the £85 million upgrade and will remain open throughout these new closures. However, there are still local and motorway diversions in place from junction 7 at Altrincham.
The work being carried out includes fitting new hard and electronic signs on gantries over the motorway, which requires cranes and multiple platforms. Meanwhile, National Highways are also converting the hard shoulder of the M56 into an extra running lane, both east and westbound.
However, before this extra lane opens, four new emergency areas are being built aling with a new central reservation barrier and low noise surfacing.
National Highways alternative motorway route to the airport suggests drivers should join or stay on the M6 at Lymm interchange, M56 junction 9/M6 Junction 20, travel north to junction 21 of the M6 where they should join the eastbound A57 Manchester Road, anti-clockwise M60 and westbound M56 for junction 5, Manchester Airport.
Sajjad Ali, National Highways’ M56 upgrade project manager, said: “We’ve had overnight eastbound carriageway closures in place regularly over the last year as we’ve worked to deliver this vital investment in the region’s economy. The diversions have worked well but with activities at the airport ramping up for the summer after the pandemic we wanted to remind drivers to factor in some extra time for motorway journeys to the airport.
“It’s important to note we started liaising with Manchester Airport Group well before the M56 motorway upgrade even started. We have an ongoing conversation with the airport about our construction programme and only close carriageways when we need the space to work safely.
“On nights when the eastbound carriageway is closed those good diversions will be in place but our key message for people heading to the airport for an early morning flight is to please spend a little time planning journeys before setting out and follow the diversion advice once you are approaching the airport.”
The weeknight road closures:
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Thursday 14 July (9pm to 6am)
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Friday 15 July (9pm to 7am)
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Monday 18 July (9pm to 6am)
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Tuesday 19 July (9pm to 6am)
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Wednesday 20 July (9pm to 6am)
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Thursday 21 July (9pm to 6am)
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Friday 22 July (9pm to 7am)
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Monday 25 July (9pm to 6am)
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Tuesday 26 July (9pm to 6am)
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Wednesday 27 July (9pm to 6am)
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Thursday 28 July (9pm to 6am)
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Friday 29 July (9pm to 7am)
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Monday 1 August (9pm to 6am)
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Tuesday 2 August (9pm to 6am)
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Wednesday 3 August (9pm to 6am)
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Thursday 4 August (9pm to 6am)
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Friday 5 August (9pm to 7am)
Full details of all the closures and diversion routes are on the project’s dedicated webpage which also features a special advice leaflet for drivers making summer journeys to the airport.
Drivers are advised to check traffic conditions before setting out on journeys. Live traffic information is always available at www.trafficengland.com or from National Highways’ 24-7 customer contact centre at 0300 123 5000. Updates will also be posted to @HighwaysNWest – National Highways’ regional Twitter feed.
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