Major refurbishment of motorway bridges unveiled

Plans have been announced to replace eight bridge deck structures along a six-mile (10k) stretch of the M6

A refurbishment of bridges on a section of a major motorway network has been announced.

National Highways has unveiled plans to replace eight bridge deck structures along a six-mile (10k) stretch of the M6 between junctions 37 and 38 through Lune Gorge near Tebay, in Cumbria.

Seven of the bridges carry the motorway between the Howgill Fells and the eighth supports the A685 road over the M6 near Roundthwaite village.

Road users are set to be impacted for about four years with the main construction work starting in 2027 and expected to last until winter 2030-31.

The agency said it was still finalising the design of what it described as "a major once-in-a-lifetime facelift" to a section of road that turned 50 in 2020 but was "now showing its age".

Advanced works and a series of local consultation events are set to start in the spring of 2025.

Avoiding 'major disruption'

Khalid El-Rayes, senior project manager, said it was hoped the work would preserve the route for decades to come.

"When this section of the M6 opened in 1970, no one could have predicted the huge rise in road use, with thousands of cars, coaches, vans and HGVs now pounding the motorway daily," he said.

“That's taken its toll, but this will ensure it runs for the next 60 years without any planned closures."

Thousands of vehicles pass through the M6's junctions 37 and 38 every day

Speaking to BBC Radio Cumbria, he added: "It's a major piece of work, we've got two national parks either side of this stretch of motorway.

"We've got the River Lune, the West Coast mainline railway runs parallel to the motorway as well as some significant and reliant communities."

The size of the eight bridges range from 151ft (46m) to 466ft (142m) in length and 16ft (5m) to 56ft (17m) in height.

The M6's Lune Gorge section runs alongside a railway, other roads and a major river

Mr Khalid El-Rayes said it was hoped to keep disruption to a minimum with traffic still able to use the motorway in a "two-by-two contraflow."

The financial cost of the project has not yet been confirmed.