M60 junction 18 Simister Island Interchange

Latest updates

• 07 December 2023

  Scheme update

  Since the public consultation earlier this year, we’ve been working hard to develop the design of the scheme prior to applying to the Planning Inspectorate for development consent.

  As a result of that process, and in response to your comments, we’ve made a number of changes to the design. These vary in scale from a reduction in the land needed for drainage to small realignments of the scheme boundary.

  We subsequently undertook a targeted consultation during the summer, to let those affected know about the changes and understand their views.

  What's coming up?

  We’re currently getting ready to submit our development consent order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate and expect to do this in early 2024. 

  Our application will include a wide range of supporting documents including:

  • the current design for the scheme
  • details of the land required
  • a detailed consultation report, summarising the consultation findings and explaining how they have informed changes to the scheme
  • environmental reports

  All of the documents will be available to view, subject to formal acceptance of our DCO application, on the Planning Inspectorate website. 

  The inspectors will then examine the application, inviting input from interested parties and statutory consultees. The examination period is a maximum of six months. 

  Following the examination, the Planning Inspectorate will present its recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport, who will then make the final decision on whether development consent should be granted. 

  You can find out more about the process by watching this DCO video explainer or on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

  Meanwhile, we’ll carry on working on our detailed design throughout this process. If our application for development consent is successful, we expect to start construction work in 2025/26. Construction is expected to take approximately three years.

  Prior to starting any work on-site, we’ll be out in the community sharing our construction timelines and detailed plans. This will be an opportunity for people to meet the project team and ask any questions they may have. More details will be shared about how to participate in due course.   

  In the meantime, we’ll continue to post regularly about scheme progress here. You can keep up to date by signing up for updates.

• 29 June 2023

  Interim report on public consultation now available

  Following our public consultation between 15 February and 28 March 2023 we have produced an interim report.

  As set out in our Statement of Community Consultation, the interim report contains the initial feedback and views collected from the public and stakeholders through the consultation response form.

  All of the responses will help us to develop proposals further and understand any concerns about the project ahead of the Development Consent Order application.

  Read the interim report on public consultation. You can also pick up our interim report at the following deposit points:

  Bury Town Hall, Knowsley Street, Bury, BL9 0SW

  • Monday to Friday, 8:45am until 5pm

  Radcliffe Leisure Centre, Spring Lane, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 2SZ

  • Monday to Friday, 6:30am until 10pm
  • Saturday, 8am until 6pm
  • Sunday, 8am until 4pm

  Berrys of Unsworth, 73 Parr Lane, Bury, BL9 8JR

  • Monday to Friday, 8am until 4pm
  • Saturday, 8am until 2pm

  Bury Library, Manchester Road, Bury, BL9 0DG

  • Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am until 4:30pm
  • Thursday, 12:30pm until 7pm
  • Saturday, 9:30am until 1pm

  Prestwich Library, Longfield Centre, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1AY

  • Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am until 4:30pm
  • Thursday, 12:30pm until 7pm
  • Sunday, 9:30am until 1pm

  Radcliffe Library, Stand Lane, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 1WR

  • Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am until 4:30pm
  • Thursday, 12:30pm until 7pm
  • Saturday, 9:30am until 1pm

  If you would like to request a copy of the interim report, please contact us via email: M60J18SimisterIslandInterchange@nationalhighways.co.uk or call us on 0300 123 5000.

  What happens now?

  We are considering the consultation responses while further developing our proposal for the application for development consent.

  Our application will include a detailed consultation report which will summarise the consultation findings and explain how they have informed any changes or refinements to the scheme design.

  The report will be available to view following acceptance of the development consent application by the Planning Inspectorate.

  The Planning Inspectorate will then examine the application for development consent, with input from interested parties and statutory consultees. The examination period is a maximum of six months.

  Following the examination, the Planning Inspectorate will present its recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport, who will then make the final decision on whether the development consent should be granted.

  We’ll carry on working on our detailed design throughout this process and, if our application for development consent is successful, we expect to start construction work in 2025.

• 29 March 2023

  Consultation now closed

  Our consultation on the updated design proposals for the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island Interchange has now closed. Thank you to everybody who took the time to share their views with us.

  Over the next few months, we’ll consider the feedback you provided and use it to inform any changes to our proposals or the scheme design. We’ll then publish a summary consultation report, which will provide information on the responses we’ve received.

  We’ll also continue talking to stakeholders during this time, as well as local organisations and groups, to design the best possible solution for the scheme.

• 23 March 2023

  Consultation closes soon

  There’s less than a week left to respond to our public consultation on the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island Interchange.

  We would like to hear your views on our updated design proposals and our environmental assessments and mitigation measures, as well as our emerging plans for the construction phase of the scheme.

  The consultation is open until 11:59pm on Tuesday 28 March 2023. You can find all of our consultation materials and have your say by visiting our consultation page.
  
  If you have any questions about the consultation or the project, you can visit us at our mobile engagement van. You can find us at the following location between 10am and 3pm:
  
  • ASDA, Pilsworth Road, Bury, BL9 8RS - Friday 24 March 2023
  
  Alternatively, you can speak to a member of the project team during our telephone consultation event by calling our freephone number 0808 196 4502 between 11am and 7pm on Thursday 23 March 2023.
  
  If you have any technical questions which we’re unable to answer on the phone, we’ll arrange for a member from one of our technical teams to call you back.
  
  If you’re unable to access any of our materials, have further queries or require these in a different format, please contact us on 0300 123 5000 or email M60J18SimisterIslandInterchange@nationalhighways.co.uk.

• 15 February 2023

  Consultation now open

  We’ve launched a public consultation on the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island Interchange and would like to hear your views on our updated design proposals.

  We also want your comments on our environmental assessments and mitigation measures, as well as our emerging plans for the construction phase of the scheme.

  The consultation is open until 11:59pm on Tuesday 28 March 2023. You can find all of our consultation materials and have your say by visiting our consultation page.

  If you have any questions about the consultation or the project, you can visit us at one of our face-to-face public consultation events. These are taking place at:

  • Parrenthorn High School, Tuesday 21 February 2023, 11am to 7pm, Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2BW
  • Our Lady of Grace Hall, Saturday 11 March 2023, 10am to 4pm, 11 Fairfax Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1AS
  • Unsworth Cricket Club, Monday 20 March 2023, 12pm to 8pm, The Pavilion, 32 Pole Lane, Bury, BL9 8QL

  You can also join one of our webinars where we’ll present our proposals and hold a question and answer session. These will be held on:

  • Thursday 23 February 2023, 1pm to 3pm. Click here to join the event
  • Wednesday 15 March 2023, 5pm to 7pm. Click here to join the event

  Please note, you may need to download the Microsoft Teams application onto your device to join these sessions.

  Alternatively, you can speak to a member of the project team during one of our telephone consultation events by calling our freephone number 0808 196 4502 on:

  • Saturday 4 March 2023 – 11am to 4pm
  • Tuesday 7 March 2023 – 11am to 7pm
  • Thursday 23 March 2023 – 11am to 7pm

  If you have any technical questions which we’re unable to answer on the phone, we’ll arrange for a member from one of our technical teams to call you back.

  We’ll be out in the community over the coming weeks in our mobile engagement van as well. You can find us at the following locations between 10am and 3pm unless stated otherwise:

  • Tesco Superstore, Valley Park Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3TG - Wednesday 1 and Tuesday 21 March 2023
  • ASDA, Pilsworth Road, Bury, BL9 8RS - Thursday 2 and Friday 24 March 2023
  • Moto Birch Eastbound, M62 eastbound between junction 18 and 19, Heywood, OL10 2QH - Wednesday 22 March 2023, 7am to 11am

  If you’re unable to access any of our materials or require these in a different format, please contact us on 0300 123 5000 or email M60J18SimisterIslandInterchange@nationalhighways.co.uk.

  Watch this short video that explains the “Development Consent Order” process, which we must follow to obtain consent to build the scheme.

• 06 February 2023

  Consultation to get underway

  We’re preparing to hold a public consultation on the design changes we’ve made to the scheme since our last consultation in 2020.

  This is your opportunity to have a say on our proposals and shape the next stage of development.

  The consultation will take place from Wednesday 15 February to Tuesday 28 March 2023.

  During this time we’ll be holding public consultation events, online webinars and telephone events.

  In addition to the design changes, we’ve also carried out additional environmental surveys and monitoring. We want to hear your views on the most recent data and on our plans for reducing the environmental impacts of the scheme.

  When the consultation launches we’ll be uploading all of the materials to our consultation webpage, including an online response form.

  We have published our Statement of Community Consultation in local and national newspapers, which sets out how we’ll carry out this consultation.

  Make sure you are up to date with the latest scheme news by signing up for webpage updates.

• 04 November 2022

  Scheme update

  We are currently looking at how to ease congestion and make journey times more reliable at the M60 / M62 / M66 Simister Island Interchange.

  More than 90,000 vehicles use this extremely busy junction to leave and join three motorways across a relatively small area. With traffic levels predicted to rise even more in the coming years it is important that the junction is improved as soon as possible.

  Since announcing the 'Northern Loop' as the preferred route in January 2021, we have been working hard to develop the design. In January 2022 we paused the start of the statutory consultation as we identified further reviews that were required. These design reviews and updates are progressing.

  This additional work has meant that submission of our application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) has been delayed.

• 07 January 2022

  Consultation Postponed

  We have been working hard to develop our designs for the M60 / M62 / M66 Simister Island Interchange scheme, with the aim of launching a public consultation from 10 January 2022 to seek your views and feedback on our proposals.

  We need to do some further reviews which means we need to reschedule our planned consultation.

  We want to ensure that you are kept up to date, and we expect to provide further updates on the project and associated public consultation soon.

• 20 December 2021

  Project Update

  We’ve been working on the preliminary design of the scheme since the Northern Loop was announced as the Preferred Route in January 2021. As our proposed scheme has developed, we have identified a number of additional design elements which have required further assessment work and site surveys to be completed.

  This additional work has meant that submission of our application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) has been delayed. As our consultation is an important part of our DCO application, we are now looking to hold our consultation in early 2022 and plan to submit our DCO application to the Secretary of State for Transport via the Planning Inspectorate in Summer 2022. We would expect to hear an outcome in Winter 2023 and if successful construction work would start in early 2025.

   

  Upcoming Consultation

   We’ll be launching our consultation on 10 January 2022 as we would like to hear your views on the proposed scheme and the development of the design. We would also like your feedback on the environmental assessments and mitigation measures we’re proposing, as well as our emerging plans for the construction phase of the scheme.

  The consultation is an important opportunity for you to tell us your thoughts on the proposed scheme, including any changes that have occurred locally in the last year which may impact on our proposed design. We are keen to understand and take account of the views of all our customers, stakeholders and local communities.

  Keep an eye on our webpage in the New Year to find out how to get involved in the consultation.

• 27 January 2021

  Preferred Route Announcement

  We have chosen the Northern Loop option for improving Simister Island, which connects the M60, M62 and M66.

  View the northern loop option map.

  For more information about this route, see our Preferred Route Announcement brochure.

  This decision follows a two-month period of public consultation which we held in summer 2020, where over 67% of respondents preferred the Northern Loop.

  When selecting the preferred route, we considered several criteria, including the scheme objectives, safety, benefits, costs, environmental effects, construction and feedback from the consultation.

  This means that we’ll be building a new loop structure to provide a free-flow link road between the M60 eastbound to the M60 southbound, allowing drivers to continue along the M60 without having to leave the motorway, navigate the roundabout and re-join the same motorway.

  We’ll also build 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.

  As part of this project, we’ll also convert the hard shoulder into a permanent traffic lane between M60 junctions 17 and 18, providing 5 lanes in both directions.

  Next steps

  We’ll now continue with further surveys and assessments so we can develop the detailed design of the improved junction.

  This scheme is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under the Planning Act 2008. This means we’re required to make an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to obtain consent to build the project.

  The application will be made to the Planning Inspectorate, who will examine the application in public hearings and then make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport, who will decide whether or not the project will go ahead.

  We plan to submit our application for a DCO by winter 2021/22, and a decision is expected in summer 2023. This short video explains more about the process.

  We’ll be holding another consultation before our DCO submission. This is where we’ll want your feedback on a more detailed design of the junction.  We’ll continue to provide updates on this webpage as we progress, and you can subscribe for email alerts when we update this page.  

• 17 August 2020

  Consultation now closed

  Our public consultation has now closed. Thank you to everybody who took the time to provide us with your feedback on our scheme and the options we presented. We’ll now take time to analyse and consider the feedback we received. You can read our Report on Public Consultation which summaries the responses we received between June and August 2020.

  We will then make a ‘preferred route announcement’ following the consultation report. This is where we confirm which option we will take forward to improve Simister Island Interchange. We will use your feedback to help us make this decision.

  Although our consultation has now closed, we’d still like to hear from you. If you have any questions or would like more information about the project or what happens next, you can contact us on the following details:

  Email: M60J18SimisterIslandInterchange@highwaysengland.co.uk
  Telephone: 0300 123 5000 (Customer Contact Centre)
  Write to: M60 J18 Simister Island Interchange Project Team, Highways England, 3 Piccadilly Place, Manchester M1 3BN

  We may not post any updates about this scheme for some time while we analyse the responses, but we will be carrying out more engagement with communities and stakeholders when we reach our preferred route announcement. We hope to be able to hold face to face events for this, depending on social distancing restrictions at the time. You can subscribe to be alerted by email when we update this webpage in the future.
  
  This short video gives more information about how we develop major road projects and the process we expect to follow to obtain planning permission to build the scheme.