Drivers to expect huge delays on M6 with traffic moving as slow as 12mph
The load weighs more than 450 tonnes
PA
Drivers have been warned to expect delays this weekend lasting as much as 12 hours on a major motorway.
National Highways plans to move electricity transformers up the M6 on Sunday, August 4, with the operation beginning at 9am and lasting all day.
Due to the heavy weight of the device, the truck carrying it from the port at Heysham in Lancashire to a holding site at Longtown north of Carlisle in Cumbria will be moving at 12mph.
The load weighs more than 450 tonnes and will be travelling north up the M6 from junction 34 near Lancaster all the way through Cumbria, affecting two lanes of the carriageway.
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Delays to last all day as electricity transformer gets transported on the motorway
PA
The load will then move into Scotland up the A74where it will turn and head south and rejoin the M6 before leaving the southbound carriageway at junction 45.
Once it reaches Cumbria, the vehicle will park on a closed lane of the northbound exit slip road at junction 39 for a planned break before resuming its journey.
Due to the slow movement of the load, drivers are being asked to be extra patient and careful when overtaking in lane three of the motorway.
However, drivers may be stopped temporarily at locations around junction 45 when the load is leaving the motorway.
The transformer will help create greener energy by supporting wind power generation in southern Scotland.
National Highways’ abnormal loads manager Gordon Beattie said: “This is an unusually wide abnormal loads movement, but we’ve been liaising with the police as well as the authorities in Scotland to keep any disruption to other drivers’ journeys to a minimum.”
According to official reports, motorists can also expect roadworks stretching between 10 and 17 miles long this summer which will affect the M1, M3, M4, M5, M6, M20, M25 and M27.
The roadworks form part of a £390million funding boost to retrofit extra emergency refuge areas of all-lane running smart motorways.
Edmund King, president of the AA, described the amount of roadworks as being a "nightmare".
He commented: "Of course we support putting in new emergency areas which, technically, should make smart motorways safer.
"But we did argue, from the start, that they shouldn’t open without the adequate number of areas anyway," The Times reported.
The RAC have already warned drivers about the expected traffic mayhem over the summer months as millions of Britons look to get away.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
M6 to have delays lasting 12 hours
GETTYNational Highways advised drivers to check traffic conditions before setting out on Sunday and to plan ahead for journeys.
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