Work starts to improve access to Kingsway Business Park at M62 Jct 21

Date published: 03/03/2006

Visitors to the Kingsway Business Park will soon have better access when a further phase in improvements to M62 Junction 21 near Rochdale begins on Monday 6 March.

The new business park is expected to create thousands of jobs in an area disadvantaged by problems of industrial decay.  The £5 million junction improvements will ensure easy access to the business park, and are designed to prevent congestion as the traffic flows increase.

The scheme involves the creation of two new traffic islands linked to slip roads on and off the motorway and is expected to take approximately 12 months.

From the evening of 6 March, the eastbound and westbound exit slip roads from the M62 will be reduced to a single lane with a mandatory 30mph speed limit, to ensure a safe area for the works to take place.

Highways Agency project manager Paul Elliott said:

"The business park is essential for the regeneration of this area, but access to the site is currently poor.  The new road system will ease congestion as the park is developed.

"This is a major improvement scheme and some delays are inevitable, particularly at peak periods.

"In the interests of road safety, we would ask drivers to observe the 30mph speed limit on the slip road."

The improvements include:

• The construction of a new dual carriageway and two roundabouts between the eastbound exit slip road and the existing A640 (Elizabethan Way) roundabout.
• Modifications to the existing eastbound exit slip road.
• Improvements to the westbound slip road.

As part of the scheme, the subway from the south side of the M62 to Moor Bank Lane will be blocked, and the footpath diverted westward towards Dig Gate Lane.  The existing Dig Gate Lane bridge over the motorway will be demolished and replaced by a new bridge further west.