Manchester North West Quadrant

Investigating the case for a wide range of improvements on the North West quadrant of the M60 between junctions 8 and 18.

Start date TBC

End date TBC

Cost TBC

Latest updates

10 August 2020

The Manchester North West Quadrant study

The Manchester North West Quadrant (MNWQ) is a Strategic Road Network project which is looking at ways to ease congestion and make journey times more reliable between junctions 8 to 18 of the M60.

The project began as a strategic study in 2014, as part of the government’s first Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) and looked at providing large scale ‘transformational’ options.

Our assessments so far have shown that these transformational options would have significant adverse impacts on local communities and overall would not provide value for money.

The project will continue to identify packages of smaller schemes that can be developed through RIS2 (2020-2025). These may include some of the smaller improvements identified to date such as remodelling the M60 junctions at 12,13 & 14, linking the M62 to the A57 and capacity improvements between 9 and 10.

We will also consider other locations for improvements that will provide benefits on the M60 between Junctions 8 to 18 but a bypass between junctions 12 and 18 of the M60 will not be considered further.

Working closely with Transport for the North and Transport for Great Manchester, our study has so far supported the importance of the Simister Island Interchange in mitigating some impacts and there is now a committed scheme in this location.

We have spoken with councils, key stakeholders, local business and groups to help assess local considerations and ensure we have built an accurate understanding of all benefits and constraints and we will continue to speak to them throughout the extended stage.

Using the information we have already gathered, we are looking at ways to reduce congestion and future proof the road by considering the benefits and potential impacts on motorists, the environment, our neighbours and the economy. We’ll then identify a shortlist of options we believe will tackle the issues, before consulting with the public.

The project is still in the very early stages and at this point there is no commitment from the Department of Transport to continue or to build if the options we identify don’t solve the current problems or offer value for money.

If you have any specific questions or would like further information on the scheme, you can contact us as follows:

Email: MNWQ@highwaysengland.co.uk
Phone: 0300 470 2216

See more updates

Project information

The M60 plays an important role in keeping traffic moving. We recognise the importance of the north west section of the motorway, enabling the development of the economy in the region and the Government’s aspirations associated with the “Northern Powerhouse”.

The MNWQ project will facilitate this by reducing congestion around the north-western side of Greater Manchester, adding capacity and improving journey times to help separate local traffic from long-distance traffic, enhancing connectivity, supporting economic growth and, improving the overall experience for road users.

The timescales for the Manchester North West Quadrant have been extended to look at the packages of smaller improvements that can be developed as part of RIS 2.

Based on current timescales, and approval to proceed, we expect to assess and develop a shortlist of options in late 2021. Progression beyond this point requires further approval and has no current commitment.