M53 to shut both ways for 15 hours due to massive abnormal load

Published date13 August 2022
Publication titleLiverpool Echo: Web Edition Articles (England)
The southbound carriageway in Ellesmere Port will be closed between junction 5 at Hooton and junction 10 for Cheshire Oaks from 7pm on Saturday, August 13 until 10am the following day, to allow for the delivery of a huge new furnace to Essar's Stanlow refinery. The northbound carriageway will also close after 7pm between junction 10 and junction 8

The new furnace is one of the largest objects ever to be moved on UK roads, and is the main module of the UK’s first hydrogen-ready furnace. It is expected to fill the whole of the motorway and will take 15-hours to complete.

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The load is 26.5 metres long, 18.5 metres tall, and 14.2 metres wide, twice the length of a road-going oil tanker and almost five times the height of a double-decker bus. A diversion will be in place using the A550 and A494 trunks between junction 5 and junction 11 at Stoak Interchange where the M53 meets the M56.

As part of the work to accommodate the abnormal load, National Highways confirmed they will need to remove and restore a number of lighting columns and matrix signs from the central reservation, boundary fencing and safety barrier from the verge, some safety barrier from the central reservation and a number of signs.

Gordon Beattie, abnormal...

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