National Highways has issued an update on "vital plans" to improve the Simister Island interchange junction.

Plans to ease congestion and make journey’s more reliable at the interchange were announced in March this year.

The transport body says it received hundreds of responses to a public consultation about the plans which concluded earlier this year after yielding “promising results".

If a development consent order application to the planning inspectorate is successful, construction on the project, which is estimated to cost between £207m and £340m, is likely to start in late 2025.

More than 90,000 vehicles use Simister Island as a route to the M60, M62 and M66 on a daily basis, and the transport body is consulting on options for futureproofing the junction to continue supporting needs and economic growth. 

A previous consultation, which took place in September 2020, says respondents in favour of Northern Loop option for the Island – a design that included a new link road to the north of the existing junction.

The Northern Loop was then announced as National Highways’ preferred route in January 2021, as it was able to support the scheme objectives of increasing traffic flow and reducing journey times.

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A National Highways spokesperson said: “We held our public consultation throughout February and March, and we received some promising results.

"We had 460 responses and over 350 people attending the in-person events.

“As we move forward, our commitment remains to reviewing the feedback we have received during the consultation period.

"Insights and suggestions from local people are important to us, and we are dedicated to incorporating them into our plans wherever possible.

“We are also in the process of engaging with local landowners who will be affected by the scheme to ensure the right changes are made to our proposals and that we have considered their feedback.

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“We continue to progress our development consent order application, which are hoping to submit to the planning inspectorate in the upcoming winter of 2023/24.

“We are committed to providing regular updates on our progress and maintaining communication with customers and stakeholders. Individuals can sign up to receive updates on the M60 Simister Island by signing up on our scheme webpage.”