Closed
Cones in road closing 3 lanes
Sent to National Highways 1 minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 4849459.
Stuck in traffic for 40 minutes around junctions 15-18 of the M60 eastbound, when we reached the road closure three lanes were closed and there was nobody anywhere near the site. Workers were spotted much further down the motorway closing off lanes on the other side. No indication that work was taking place in the central reservation zone so the work could have been completed on one side of the road and reopened before closing the other side.
This report is now closed to updates from the public. You can make a new report in the same location.
Updates
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Thank you for contacting National Highways regarding the lack of work taking place when lane closures are in place.
We're carrying out essential maintenance works overnight on the M60 between junctions 9 and 15. We schedule the majority of our roadworks overnight when traffic volumes are significantly lower.
We know it can be frustrating when workers are not visible and closures are in place. There are legitimate reasons for apparent inactivity. Sometimes it’s neither safe nor practical to regularly remove and replace complex cone layouts in a high-speed traffic environment. Some work won’t be visible or obvious to drivers, but requires lane closures for the safety of road users and road workers, such as:
- Open excavations requiring protection e.g. for laying new cables, drain repairs, new structural foundations; - Where safety barriers have been removed;
- Where materials require time to set or strengthen e.g. concrete has to be left for several days before it’s strong enough for its intended purpose;
- Night time installations, testing technology and constructing or strengthening embankments;
- With a lot of work happening at night, traffic management is often partially removed during busy daytime periods so that traffic can keep moving. To remove and reset the entire closure each day would take a long time which would delay both the project, and motorists for longer and increase the overall cost of the scheme;
- For the safety of our workforce, closures are installed before work is scheduled to take place. The maintenance team may not immediately be on site as soon as the closure is put in place;
Please accept our apologies for the delay to your journey.
Kind regards
National Highways