With less than a month to go before the M6 is shut for two full weekends in January for the demolition and replacement of the Clifton railway bridge that carries the Westcoast mainline across the M6, Westmorland and Furness Council has refused to reveal how much money it has received in connection with the £60 million scheme that will see the existing West Coast Mainline bridge removed and a new steel bridge rolled into place.

To allow Network Rail carries out the work, National Highways will fully close the M6 between Junction 40 and Junction 39 in both directions on two consecutive weekends in January when thousands of vehicles are set to be forced off the motorway and diverted onto local roads owned and maintained by Westmorland and Furness council.

Current plans show daytime Northbound traffic leaving the M6 at Shap and travelling North to Penrith and Junction 40 via the A6, while southbound traffic will be sent from Junction 40, to rejoin the M6 at Tebay via the A66 and Kirkby Stephen.

HGVs were originally expected to face a four-hour diversion via Leeds and Manchester day and night, but that diversion triggered backlash from haulage companies. As a result, National Highways has made late changes, and all overnight motorway traffic in both directions including HGV’s will now pass over Eamont Bridge and travel along the A6 between Penrith and Shap to bypass the M6 closure and the £60million bridge replacement project.

A freedom of information request was submitted to Westmorland and Furness council asking for details of any payments or financial awards linked to the scheme, including money from Network Rail, National Highways and contractor Skanska.

Westmorland and Furness Council refused to disclose any information, claiming that doing so would cause “Prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs.” The council insisted that the project is not its own and stated it only holds records relating to diversion route discussions and coordination while the bridge replacement remains “in the planning and coordination stage.”

However, records obtained by Penrith.Town News show that National Highways has so far paid the council £116,235.78 on 17th November as funding for “M6 Clifton Railway Bridge Replacement Westmorland and Furness Council Diversion Routes,” and further payments are expected, including for safety inspections on routes such as Eamont Bridge, which suffered major flood damage ten years ago.

National Highways has also confirmed that temporary changes will affect residents living along the diversion route. Traffic calming buildouts along the A6 will be temporarily removed in Clifton, and parking bans will be enforced along the A6 in Clifton, Shap, Hackthorpe and Eamont Bridge for both weekends of the closure.

Local resident access permits will also be issued for using many local roads around the area to prevent motorway traffic trying to take shortcuts to escape what is expected to be lengthy delays and bumper to bumper traffic along the diversion routes over both weekends.