Drivers are being reminded that a key section of England’s main trans-Pennine motorway will be closed this month.
As Network Rail looks to replace an almost 60-year-old railway bridge, the Castleton bridge, a key section of the M62 between junction 19 at Heywood and junction 20 at Rochdale is set to close for two full weekends while demolition work takes place.
The section of the major motorway will be closed in both directions from 9pm on Friday (6 September) to 6am on Monday (9 September), and again from 9pm on Friday 20 September to 6am on Monday 23 September.
National Highways – which operates the M62 – is working with Network Rail to ensure the work goes “as smoothly as possible”, but just as you’d expect, is warning drivers that will likely affect travel plans, especially as the motorway links Liverpool and Hull, as well as the cities of Manchester and Leeds in between.
#M62#Rochdale The M62 between Manchester and Leeds will be CLOSED at Rochdale this weekend.
While drivers are being urged to avoid this section of the M62 if possible, diversions will be in place.
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Due to the timings of the work over the two weekends, different closure and diversion arrangements will be in place for the westbound and eastbound carriageways – with the eastbound carriageway actually being closed from junction 18 of the M62 at Simister Island interchange, to junction 20 of the M62 at Rochdale.
The westbound carriageway will be closed between junction 20 at Rochdale and junction 19 at Heywood.
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This is the first time in recent memory that the M62 – which carries around 120,000 vehicles a day – has been closed for a whole weekend or other extended periods, specifically for planned work.
A key part of the M62 in Rochdale is closing this weekend / Credit: National Highways
Traffic officers at National Highways’ regional operations nearby will be working “around the clock” throughout the two weekends to monitor traffic, and work alongside the police and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to help clear any incidents as quickly as possible.
Drivers heading across the Pennines are being urged to plan journeys in advance, including checking for congestion or incidents before setting out.
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A dedicated webpage has been set up to help keep commuters, businesses, and other M62 users up to date with all the progress and planned closures in relation to the Network Rail project – including diversion information.
Check it out on the National Highways website here.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
News
Six teenage boys arrested following stabbing of 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre
Emily Sergeant
Six teenage boys have been arrested following the stabbing of a 13-year-old in Rochdale town centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a ‘serious assault’ near the Riverside Shopping Centre in central Rochdale on Saturday (29 August), and when they arrived on the scene, they found that a 13-year-old boy had been stabbed.
The young boy currently remains in hospital receiving treatment, while a police investigation into the incident is open and ongoing.
Two teenage boys were first arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article on the same day the incident occurred (29 August), but have since been released on bail.
Officers then made four further arrests yesterday (31 August), again all teenage boys who were arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a bladed article, with enquires ongoing.
A Section 60 and 60AA ‘stop and search’ authority was introduced in Rochdale town centre following the recent incidents in area and following reports of youths carrying weapons in the locality, and this has now been extended to 3pm today (Tuesday 1 September).
“This was a serious and sustained attack that could have had far more tragic consequences,” explained Detective Superintendent, Richard Hunt .”Our team of experienced detectives is working around the clock to understand exactly what happened, identify all those involved, and secure the strongest possible evidence.
“We will relentlessly pursue every lead available to us and will leave no stone unturned in bringing all those responsible before the courts.
“Community safety remains our absolute priority, and we are committed to ensuring those who seek to bring violence onto our streets are held fully accountable for their actions.”
Can you help? Anyone who witnessed the incident, was in the town centre at the time, or has any mobile phone, CCTV, or dashcam footage, is urged to come forward and speak to police on 101, quoting log 2750 of 29/08/2026, or using the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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High School Musical at Lowry, Salford – a night spent reliving our childhood | Review
Amy Williams
What a night spent reliving our childhood.
Now, I don’t want to exaggerate or seem biased, considering this is one of my favourite film trilogies of all time, but this could be the best stage show I’ve seen in a long while.
We all know how High School Musical goes, right? Set at East High, we follow Troy and Gabriella (the star basketball player, and the geeky new girl) who meet over New Year, and then become ‘star-crossed lovers’ when back at school as they’re part of two different ‘cliques’.
The duo mess with the ‘Status Quo’ when they audition for the school musical. But will they stick to what they know? Or become stars of the stage? I’m sure you know the ending.
High School Musical is currently on stage at Lowry, Salford / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
From the costumes and the characters, to the memorable songs (there’s actually 52 songs in this production, including a mega mix at the end), they’ve kept right to the script of the films – and that’s exactly what we wanted to see.
Of course, the biggest throwback of them all is Kaycee Stroh – who originally featured as Martha Cox in the film trilogy – taking the role as Ms Darbus, and she was just as incredible as we expected her to be. And to see her do the iconic dance in the finale was unbelievable, 13-year-old Amy was screaming.
Also featuring Jason Donovan as Coach Bolton, Tobias Turley as Troy, Leonor Correia as Gabriella, Caitlin Tipping Sharpay, and Luke Bayer as Ryan, it was a proper impressive cast all round.
It’s a night to properly relive your mid-00s childhood / Credit: Matt Crockett (Supplied)
There was crowd interaction right from the off, as they taught the crowd a cheerleading routine to be included later in the show, plus for the finale, they had the lyrics on the big screen too so everyone could sing-along.
If we could go and see this show every single night, we would – it is absolutely brilliant.
Emily Sergeant -
4th September 2024 
