The M6 at Knutsford in Cheshire has reopened following weekend work to finish pouring the concrete for a new bridge through the roundabout at junction 19.
The new bridge is set to open this summer and will provide direct links between the M6 and A556.
Junction 19 was closed between 8pm on Friday and 6am on Saturday but the M6 remained open with occasional lane closures in place.
Between 6am and 8pm on Saturday the motorway itself was closed at junction 19. A direct ‘up and over’ two-lane diversion was in place with motorway users able to quickly leave and re-join the M6 via the roundabout by using the junction exit and entry slip roads.
Finally, between 8pm on Saturday and 6am on Sunday junction 19 was closed but the M6 remained open with occasional lane closures in place.
The ‘up and over’ diversion at junction 19 worked effectively last weekend and in January when the motorway was closed for installation of bridge beams.
The January closure saw 36 steel beams lifted into position over the carriageway, a significant milestone in the construction of the new bridge and, despite challenging weather conditions, work was carried out as planned.
In addition to lifting the beams into position, Highways England used the full overnight closures to carry out additional routine maintenance. This included clearing 41km of overgrown vegetation, removing 200t of silt from motorway drainage, cleaning 600 gullies and 108 manholes, collecting over 800 large bin bags of litter and making 22 repairs to safety barriers.
Highways England is also continuing to make improvements to the roundabout and surrounding road network, including widening the footway and installing traffic lights south of the junction in Tabley.
The scheme is currently on track to complete as scheduled.