Significant disruption is expected on local roads in January after National Highways make last-minute changes to planned diversion routes during the full closure of the M6 between junction 40 and Junction 39 in January for the replacement of the West Coast Main Line railway bridge at Clifton.
The M6 will be closed to allow Networkrail to demolish the old bridge and replace it from 8pm Friday 2 January to 5am Monday 5 January 2026 and 8pm Friday 9 January to 5am Monday 12 January 2026.
The Westcoast mainline will also be full closed for 16 days from the 31st December adding to the expected traffic on the roads.
Original plans published by National Highways diverted all Northbound M6 traffic off thr motorway at junction 39 and along the A6 through Shap, Hackthorpe, Clifton and Eamont Bridge before reaching Kemplay Roundabout, with traffic then travelling west on the A66 to rejoin the motorway at junction 40. Southbound traffic was due to leave the M6 at junction 40, head east on the A66 and be diverted via Kirkby Stephen and Tebay before rejoining the M6 at junction 38.
During the two closure weekends, Road layout changes will be in place at M6 junction 40 and A66 Kemplay Bank roundabout to keep drivers moving. Kemplay Roundabout will not operate as a roundabout, with traffic movements restricted to east–west only impacting roads in and out of Penrith also onto Kemplay roundabout and J40.
On Friday Clifton Community Council issued a public statement to inform residents that National Highways has now altered these arrangements following an emergency stakeholder meeting called for by the council on Friday. The council said: “We have no easy way to put the following information to the community but Clifton Community Council believes it important that the community is updated with the situation regarding the January M6 closures for the railway bridge replacement works.”
“As residents will be aware the M6 will be fully closed over the first two weekends of January. Traffic from the M6 will be placed on Diversions routes by National Highways.”
“Clifton Community Council has been part of a multi agency stakeholder group for over a year working on this project and planning for January trying to ensure the disruption caused to our community is mitigated as much as possible.”
“We must now share some news we received this week and following an emergency stakeholder meeting today, which confirmed the new plan for the diversion routes in January.”
The council confirmed that, in addition to the previously announced northbound diversion through Clifton, southbound traffic will also be routed along the A6 between 8pm and 5am each night. It stated: “National Highways had originally planned to divert all the Northbound traffic via the A6 through Clifton along with Shap Hackthorpe and Eamont bridge 24 hours a day during the closures. They have now taken the decision to also divert all southbound traffic from 8pm until 6am each night via the A6 through Clifton in order to provide some ‘relief to residents of Kirkby Stephen and Tebay’ from all the traffic!”
The council added: “We have made it clear that we believe Clifton has been left to shoulder the full brunt of this project not only from the traffic diversions but also the work on the bridge itself.” It also confirmed that traffic-calming build-outs on the A6 will be removed to accommodate the diverted vehicles. “We wanted the community to be fully updated on this sudden change in plans and the inevitable impact it will have in January on our community.”
In light of the expected rise to approximately 40,000 vehicles per day during each closure weekend, the council has requested structural checks on vulnerable infrastructure. It said it has “insisted that full structural safety checks be carried out on the A6 railway bridge in Clifton and Eamont bridge to ensure both can cope with the volume and weight of traffic they will carry.”
Responding to these concerns, a spokesperson for National Highways told Penrith.Town News: “We recognise that the southbound HGV diversion route is lengthy and will add time to haulier journeys. To minimise the impact, we’ll reopen the A6 southbound to all vehicles from Kemplay Bank roundabout each night, subject to low traffic numbers.”
“This will be managed by temporary signals at Kemplay Bank roundabout and Eamont Bridge. Drivers will be able to receive regular updates via a text alert system. We’ll be announcing further details on this in the coming weeks.”
Cumbria Police clarified their position on the change in diversions, stating: “Diversion routes are a matter for National Highways. The stated changes have not been made at the request of Cumbria Constabulary. The decision was made by National Highways.”
“The Constabulary continues to work in partnership with National Highways and other partner agencies to assist in managing any disruption resulting from these major and essential works, as well as any road safety issues.”
Local authorities and residents now await further details, with concerns focused on road capacity, structural integrity and the resilience of key routes during the closures.
Public information events
Before the weekend closures, National Highways are holding drop in sessions so you can find out more and ask questions:
Monday 1 December - Clifton Primary School, Clifton, CA10 2EG
6pm to 7.30pm.
Tuesday 2 December - Eamont Bridge village hall, Penrith, CA10 2BH
9.30am to 6.30pm
Monday 8, Tuesday 9, Monday 15, Tuesday 16, Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 December - Rheged Centre, Redhills, Penrith, CA11 0DQ
9.30am to 5pm each day
Wednesday 10 December - Tebay Methodist Church, Orton Road, Tebay, CA10 3XB
10am to 7pm
Thursday 11, Thursday 18 and Monday 22 December - Kirkby Stephen Methodist Church, High Street, Kirkby Stephen, CA17 4SG
10am to 7pm each day
Saturday 13 December - engagement van session at Brewery Lane, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7FN
9am to 4pm
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