UPDATED: These roadworks have been postponed. National Highways said:
“This weekend, road surface temperatures are expected to reach around 40°C.
“Such high temperatures will cause our waterproofing to fail so we’ve had to postpone.
“We’ll give you new dates as soon as we’ve rescheduled the work.”
Motorists are being advised to plan ahead and expect heavier than normal traffic in South Leeds over this weekend (29 May – 1 June 2026).
National Highways are implementing a full closure of the M62 motorway between Tingley (J28) and the Lofthouse interchange with the M1 (J29) to allow for bridge repairs.
A spokesperson said:
“The full weekend closure will take place from 9pm on Friday 29 May to 5am on Monday 1 June. This closure is so that we can carry out essential waterproofing work on Ardsley railway bridge.
“This particular section of the M62 carries on average 66,000 vehicles on a weekday over the East Coast Mainline Railway line. It’s vital we carry out these essential works to the waterproofing system of the bridge now to prevent any future deterioration. Safety is our top priority.
“A full weekend closure will allow us to carry out the work as quickly as possible – reducing disruption to motorists. If we were to carry out the work under lane closures, the work would need to take place over a minimum of six weeks, including peak traffic periods, and we believe this would cause even more disruption in the Leeds area.
“This full weekend closure is the safest way of undertaking the work to minimise the risk to both the workforce and drivers. We’ve chosen to do this work in July as traffic flows are lower during the summer months. We fully appreciate that the closure will still be a cause of frustration, but we hope that our reasons for this decision are understandable.
“This work is very weather-dependent and dry weather is key for the waterproofing to be a success. This is why we’ve planned the work for a drier time of year. However, we may need to reschedule this work if heavy rain prevents us from carrying this out. We have also tried to avoid conflicts with major events in and around Leeds City Centre as much as possible. We’ve also undertaken traffic modelling to understand the likely disruption to motorists, and we believe during the Saturday and Sunday peaks (10am-5pm) it will take approximately 30 minutes extra to drive this stretch of the network.”
The official diversion routes use both the M621 and the Ring Road / Dewsbury Road between J1 of the M621 and Tingley, but the impact may be felt on other parts of the South Leeds road network.
For more information visit: nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/yorkshire-and-north-east
This post is based on a press release issued by National Highways
Photo: Google
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Please contact National Highways or edit the article yourselves, as it also mentions, lower down, why July was chosen for the work to be done.
Thank you for the prompt Valerie, we’ve edited the article.