One of the most picturesque sections of English motorway is set for a ‘once-in-a-lifetime facelift’.
National Highways is planning to replace eight bridge deck structures along the spectacular six-mile section of the M6 through Lune Gorge in Cumbria, between junctions and 38 at Tebay.
Seven of the bridges carry the M6 itself as it snakes through the gorge, while an eighth carries the A685 over the motorway near Roundthwaite.
The bridges range from 46 metres to 142 metres long with heights of between five metres and 17 metres.
National Highways said that with the Lune Gorge section of the motorway having celebrated its 50th birthday in 2020, the bridges are now showing their age and a major refurbishment programme is being planned.
Senior project manager Khalid El-Rayes said: ‘When this section of the M6 was opened in 1970 no-one could have predicted the huge rise in domestic and commercial traffic, with thousands of cars, coaches, vans and HGVs now pounding the motorway daily.
‘That huge volume of traffic has taken its toll, but this project will ensure this section of the M6 plays a key role in connecting businesses and communities across the north and beyond for decades to come.’
Kier has been appointed lead contractor and staff have carried out ground investigations and other surveys to prepare for the work and design a project programme.
Mr El-Rayes added: ‘Our delivery partners including Kier, RPS, Aecom, and Tony Gee, bring decades of experience in engineering and design, ensuring that we can deliver this project efficiently and safely.
‘We’ve been working with them to develop design solutions to reduce the length of roadworks and number of closures. By using specialist equipment, we’ll be able to replace the bridge decks safely and more quickly than traditional construction methods.’
National Highways said traffic management will probably use a contraflow system on one carriageway, using the hard shoulder, with two lanes of traffic in each direction.
The operator aims to carry out some preparation work next year before main construction work in 2027.
