To enable the replacement of a rail bridge at Clifton (south of Penrith) the M6 motorway will be closed in both directions between Junction 38 (Tebay) and Junction 40 (Penrith) from 8pm on Friday 2 January to 5am on Monday 5 January, and again the following weekend 9 to 12 January.
During the closures northbound traffic will be diverted onto the A6 via Shap, and southbound traffic onto the A66/A685 via Kirkby Stephen.
Congestion and delays on the diversionary routes are inevitable. In particular the southbound route may become quite difficult through Kirkby Stephen.