News

Warning to motorists ahead of several overnight closures on M6 near Wigan for ‘complete resurfacing’

It's time to plan ahead.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 8th July 2024

Motorists are being warned of several overnight closures set to take place on the M6 near Wigan over the next few weeks.

As part of its ongoing ‘Warrington to Wigan Upgrade’ project, National Highways has now released the latest dates for overnight closures on the M6 – which will begin early this week, and run over the next couple of weeks.

Having started back in March 2021, the upgrade project involves the Government-owned company adding new emergency areas and technology, and a lane in each direction to the motorway between junctions 21a and junction 26, as well as resurfacing all four lanes of the carriageway across sections of the route between Croft and Orrell interchanges.

These next closures will be put in place so that “complete resurfacing” work can be carried out.

Most daytime activities on the project have now been completed, according to National Highways, however, overnight work will still need to be carried out to continue the installing of gantry signs, other signs, and to resurface what will be the new lanes two and three of the motorway.

ADVERTISEMENT
Several overnight closures are planned on the M6 near Wigan for ‘complete resurfacing’ / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | National Highways

The overnight carriageway closures – which will be carried out from 9pm to 6am – are due to the size of the equipment required for the resurfacing.

The first closure will be put in place on the M6 northbound junction 23 to 26 this evening (8 July), with the final closure in the scheme being the M6 northbound junction 21a to 22 on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 July.

ADVERTISEMENT

The full list of closures are as follows:

  • M6 northbound junction 23 to 26 – closed tonight (Monday 8 July) and Wednesday 17 July
  • M6 southbound junction 26 to 23 – closed Tuesday 9 July
  • M6 southbound junction 23 to 22 – closed Wednesday 10 and Friday 12 July
  • M6 northbound junction 22 to 23 – closed Thursday 11 and Tuesday 16 July
  • M6 southbound junction 22 to 21a – closed Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 July
  • M6 northbound junction 21a to 22 – closed Thursday 18 and Friday 19 July

National Highways says the precise dates and times of the work may be subject to change due to “weather conditions” or “unforeseen circumstances”.

Clearly signed diversions will be in place overnight when a carriageway is closed.

ADVERTISEMENT

Read more:

More information, including details of the diversion routes, is available on the M6 upgrade project webpage here.

Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons

News

Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Oasis ticket prices revealed ahead of huge reunion tour. Credit: Publicity picture, Simon Emmett

Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.

The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.

Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.

For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.

They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.

You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.

And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.

THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.

This is the full statement shared by Oasis:

“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.

“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.

“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.

“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.

“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.

“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.

“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.

“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”

Featured image: Simon Emmett

News

Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.

The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.

That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.

Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.

For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.

Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group

Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.

And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.

Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.

According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.

As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.

The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:

Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.

“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.

“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”

Read more:

Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.

“This is completely unacceptable.”

Featured Image – Manchester Airport Group

More News

Boroughs

Ambitious plans unveiled to create a new river path connecting Salford Quays with the city centre

News

Disruption expected as key part of ‘major’ Greater Manchester motorway closes this weekend

The Mysterines. Credit: Publicity picture

Audio

Major act pulls out of Manchester’s Neighbourhood festival as they cancel ALL shows

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches