M1/M62 Lofthouse Interchange Public Consultation

Overview

Our consultation for the M1/M62 Lofthouse Interchange has closed.

At National Highways we believe in a connected country, and our network makes these connections happen. We strive to improve our major roads and motorways, engineering the future to keep people moving today and moving better tomorrow. We want to make sure all our major roads are more dependable, durable and, most importantly, safe.

To help us do this, we’ve allocated £347 million of our funding to the development of potential future schemes over the next five years. This includes 32 possible schemes to be developed as part of a pipeline of future schemes. The M1/M62 Lofthouse Interchange is one of the pipeline schemes that we’re currently looking at options for improving, which the government may consider for future investment.

The need for the scheme

The M1 and M62 are important motorways connecting London to Leeds and the east and west coasts. Lofthouse is the interchange that allows commuter, leisure and freight traffic to move between the two motorways.

Approximately 75,000* vehicles move through the interchange every day, leading to significant queues at peak times and disrupting the journeys of thousands of road users. The travel demand is set to grow over the next 30 years, when we expect 107,000** vehicles to use the interchange every day. This is predicted to mean queues on the M62 eastbound approach to the interchange could be over half a mile long.

*Baseline figure from 2016.

**Figure for 2044.

Scheme objectives

We want to:

• Improve road safety for all
  
  Accidents occur because of congestion and queuing at the interchange. Improving the interchange will make it safer for all road users. It will also improve how we maintain the interchange by making it safer for our roadworkers and will help reach our goal of zero harm on our network by 2040.
   
• Create more capacity and improve journey times 
  
  We want to enable traffic to flow more freely through the interchange. This will help to cut congestion as the roads become busier in the future, making journeys more reliable for years to come.
   
• Minimise the impact on the natural and built environment
  
  We want to encourage economic growth while protecting the environment and improving safety and quality of life for current and future generations. We are working hard to minimise the impact of our proposed improvements on people, plants and animals and provide benefits wherever possible.
   
• Improve connectivity to support economic growth
  
  Moving more easily between the M1 and M62 supports regional economic growth. By making West Yorkshire more accessible the area becomes more attractive as a place to do business, live and explore.

Options

The Current Layout

Option A

New roundabout

The existing roundabout was built in the 1960s and now requires regular maintenance to keep it safe. This option will replace the existing roundabout with a new roundabout built to the latest standards. It will include additional lanes to provide more capacity. This will temporarily improve the flow of traffic and improve journey times.

The new roundabout will require less maintenance which means there will be less disruption to road users. As traffic volumes continue to increase in the future, the existing traffic problems at the interchange may return within five years with this option.

Option B

New free-flow link

A new free-flow link connecting the M1 northbound to the M62 eastbound will be provided. This will temporarily improve journey times and create more capacity on the roundabout. The new free-flow link will pass through the centre of the interchange to reduce the additional land required and help to minimise the environmental impact.

The existing roundabout will still be retained and will require regular maintenance work to ensure it is fit for the future. As traffic volumes continue to increase in the future, the existing traffic problems may return within 15 years, at which point another project may be required to provide further improvements.

Option C

Full free-flow interchange

New free-flow links will be provided between the M62 and M1. This will remove the need for vehicles to stop at the interchange and will improve journey times. The new free-flow links will pass through the centre of the interchange to reduce the additional land required and help to minimise the environmental impact.

The existing roundabout will no longer be required and will be demolished. Demolishing the existing roundabout will avoid the current and future delays caused by maintenance work to the existing roundabout.

Bigger versions of the options maps

(This is an embedded PDF reader, use the scroll bars to move around the maps and the zoom function via the +/- buttons to see more detail.)

Discounted options

We have looked at lots of ways to improve the Lofthouse Interchange and assessed many options, taking into consideration:

• Whether or not it meets the scheme’s objectives
• How it impacts road safety
• How much it will cost to build
• How it impacts the environment
• How the local community could be affected

As a result, we have discounted a number of options which did not satisfy these criteria.

What happens next

The feedback received during the consultation will now be considered, along with other factors such as safety, the environment, value for money, and the scheme’s specific objectives. The M1/M62 Lofthouse scheme will continue to be assessed and considered alongside the wider portfolio of potential road projects. If the scheme is approved for the next stage of design (stage 3 development), there would be further opportunities to have your say.

At that point we would develop the design in more detail, carry out more environmental assessments and look at further steps we can take to reduce environmental impacts. As part of this process, we would carry out another public consultation where you would have the opportunity to review the chosen design and give more feedback.

More detailed analysis of the consultation feedback will be made available when the full Consultation Analysis Report is published.