Temporary bridge repairs to be carried out on M6 at Thelwall Viaduct

Emergency repairs along the southbound carriageway of the M6 along Thelwall Viaduct will be taking place from Saturday 9 April into Sunday afternoon.

National Highways is carrying out a temporary repair to a defective bridge joint, so three lanes will be closed, leaving only lane four open to traffic.

The bridge joint is across lane two and lane three of the southbound carriageway and is very close to where drivers join the M6 from the slip road at junction 21, which means the slip road will also be closed between 9pm on Saturday evening and 5pm on Sunday.

Bridge joints are mechanisms in the carriageway which allow the bridge deck to expand and contract safely with changes in the weather.

The work will allow National Highways to plan a full repair at a later date which is likely to require a full overnight closure of the motorway over the viaduct.

The work has been planned to minimise inconvenience to drivers heading back from the Grand National at Aintree.

Drivers heading from Merseyside to Manchester for the Manchester City and Liverpool Premier League match should not be affected by the lane closures.

The Highways Agency will be posting updates on its social media channels as the work gets underway.