Castleton bridge, which is almost 60 years old and carries the main railway line over the M62 between Manchester and Rochdale , is being demolished and replaced with a new bridge during two full weekend closures of the motorway in September. National Highways , which operates the M62, is working with Network Rail to ensure the work goes as smoothly as possible but is advising drivers that the two weekend closures will affect cross-Pennine travel plans with the motorway linking Liverpool and Hull as well as Manchester and Leeds. Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
It is the first time in recent memory that the M62, which carries around 120,000 vehicles a day, has been closed for a whole weekend or other extended periods for planned work. Gary Farrell, National Highways’ senior network planner (resilience), said: “Network Rail clearly needs to replace what is an ageing bridge and a critical piece of the railways infrastructure supporting the important Manchester Victoria to Leeds service and other routes. “We’ve been working with staff from Network Rail for many months to plan and publicise this work including the two full weekend closures.
“We are urging drivers to avoid this section of the M62 during the two weekends by delaying journeys or planning alternative rout.