MOTORISTS who use the M6 in north Cumbria are set to face 13 weeks of disruption when works get underway by Highways England in the new year.

A total of £2.5 million is to be spent between Carlisle and Penrith to replace the barrier in the central reservation with the latest type of steel system.

The project will get underway on Monday, January 6.

The scheme will take place near Southwaite Services between M6 junction 41 and junction 42.

It will start with two overnight closures of each carriageway on different nights. There will then be one overnight carriageway closure in each direction each week until the end of March as the barrier installation crews work their way along a seven-mile section.

The carriageway repairs will also be taking place alongside routine maintenance such as litter clearance.

Highways England senior project manager Paul Clark said: “The current barrier, which was installed in the early 1990s, is at the end of its serviceable life so we’re replacing it with the very latest steel barrier system which will ensure drivers can continue to enjoy safe and smooth journeys along this section of the M6.

“While we’re replacing the barriers we’ll be doing as much other work as possible to save closing lanes again in the near future and minimise inconvenience to motorway users.”

For safety purposes, narrow lanes and a reduced speed limit of 50mph will be in place throughout the work.

The weekly overnight closures will operate with a signed diversion using the parallel A6.

The northbound carriageway will be closed between 10pm and 5am on Monday and Tuesday, January 6 and 7 and then every Tuesday night onwards.

The southbound carriageway will also shut to vehicles between 10pm and 5am on Wednesday and Thursday, January 8 and 9, and every Wednesday night onwards.

The existing safety barrier is a fully-tensioned hollow steel box system supported on posts.

It is being replaced by an un-tensioned corrugated steel barrier system supported on Z-posts which requires less maintenance visits and associated lane closures – saving on costs and on inconvenience to motorway users.

The latest round of works follows a raft of projects to maintain and repair the carriageway in recent months.

A previous project to the carriageway and noise barrier took place near Carlisle in May.

In recent months, several rounds of roadworks and repairs have been carried out on the M6 by Highways England.

They include a range of daytime and evening works at Carlisle, Penrith, Shap and in the south of the county, which have involved some overnight closures and diversions for motorists.

For further information about roadworks carried out on motorways and main roads by Highways teams, visit highwaysengland.co.uk