The westbound carriageway of the M62 near Rochdale will see five successive overnight closures next week in preparation for the replacement of a railway bridge over the motorway in September.
Infrastructure operator Network Rail is replacing Castleton bridge, which carries the main railway line over the M62 between Manchester and Rochdale as part of the Manchester Victoria to Leeds route.
Preparation work this month requires five successive overnight closures of the westbound M62 from Monday (15 July).
The westbound carriageway will be closed nightly from 9pm to 6am between Junction 20 of the motorway at Rochdale and Junction 19 at Heywood.
National Highways said a clearly-signed diversion will be in place.
The M62 will then see a full closure in September for two weekends when the bridge will be removed and replaced.
The motorway will be closed in both directions from 9pm on Friday 6 September to 6am on Monday 9 September and from 9pm on Friday 20 September to 6am on Monday 23 September.
Engineers will dismantle the existing 42 metre, 2,000-tonne structure (pictured) before the new bridge is installed.
A significant part of the new structure will be built off site, reducing the number of road closures needed.
There will also be nightly closures of the motorway in both directions between the two weekend closures.
National Highways said further information for drivers, including diversion routes, will be issued nearer the time and has set up a webpage to keep commuters, businesses and other motorway users up to date with progress and planned closures related to the project.
