Two-year plan to fix notorious motorway junction

About 90,000 vehicles a day use Simister Island interchange

A two-year construction scheme, estimated to cost anywhere between £207m and £340m, has been approved to address issues with the notoriously congested Simister Island in Greater Manchester.

The project, affecting the M60, M62 and M66 routes, would see a "northern loop" built to allow thousands of vehicles a day to bypass the current traffic light-controlled roundabout.

Simister Island is used by about 90,000 vehicles a day, which National Highways said is many more than it was designed for.

The Department for Transport confirmed approval of the scheme which National Highways claims will result in "more reliable and safer journeys" through the interchange.

The work will consist of:

• construction of a new free-flow link from the M60 eastbound to M60 southbound carriageways,

• realignment of the M66 southbound carriageway on the approach to the junction

• construction of a new two-lane free-flow road from the M60 northbound to the M60 westbound to replace the existing single-lane and widen the M66 southbound to four lanes through junction 18

• A conversion of the hard shoulder into a permanent traffic lane between M60 junctions 17 and 18, providing five lanes in both directions.

Work will also take place on signage, signalling and drainage, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

No price or timing for the project has been announced, but early cost estimates are between £207m and £340m and it is expected to take about two years to build.

National Highways said: "The scheme will improve J18 of the M60 and facilitate the movement of traffic along the M60, M62 and M66 in the scheme area, contributing to more reliable and safer journeys through the junction.

"In order to facilitate the new arrangements at J18, the scheme provides additional capacity between J17-18 with the change to a dual five lane motorway with hard shoulder cross section."