Commuters are being reminded to plan and prepare for the scheduled two-day closure ahead of the full re-opening of Manchester’s inner ring road.
There will be a complete closure of the Mancunian Way on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 June for its annual maintenance inspection, to remove the contraflow system that has been in place since a huge sinkhole appeared in August, and to repaint road markings.
The Mancunian Way will then reopen fully from 6am Wednesday 15 June.
Diversion routes will be signposted but drivers are advised to allow plenty of extra time to make journeys and avoid driving across the city centre unless they have to by using other parts of the inner ring road or the M60. Those wanting to make cross city journeys should follow the ‘inner relief route diversion’ signs, while those wanting to get into the city should follow the ‘city centre diversion’ signs.
Where possible, altering journey times into the city centre to avoid the rush hours – between 7am-9.30am and 4pm-6.30pm – is also encouraged to spread demand.
There are a number of Park and Ride sites, catering for train and tram services, available across the region so people are encouraged to think about swapping their car for public transport. Services will be busier than normal across the two days and people should, again, consider travelling outside the peak periods.
Those with a short commute could consider walking or cycling.
John Fryer, TfGM’s Events Manager, said: “The full reopening of the Mancunian Way is undoubtedly great news. It has been a significant challenge for us in terms of managing the traffic flows on already busy roads – but we’ve used our state-of-the-art control centre to adjust traffic signal timings to minimise delays as far as possible.
“I’d encourage commuters and visitors driving into the city on Monday or Tuesday to consider adjusting their usual routine if possible and to plan and prepare for busier roads.”
Councillor Kate Chappell, Executive Member for Environment for Manchester City Council, said: “We’d like to thank the public for bearing with us during this challenging work.
“As the damage affected a major sewer there was no alternative but for United Utilities to carry out this complex large-scale repair deep underground otherwise large parts of East Manchester would have been left without a functioning sewage system.
“This two-day inspection closure, which was postponed while other work was going on, is the final push before the welcome full re-opening of the Mancunian Way.”
