MOTORISTS on the M6 this weekend are being warned about potential delays and disruptions due to a 'wide load' being transported north of Carlisle. 

The National Highways has issued a warning to drivers travelling through Lancashire and Cumbria this Saturday, August 3, to be prepared due to the transporting of a 'huge' electricity transformer from Heysham port to Longtown. 

 The operation begins at 9am from Heysham on Saturday and will last around 12 hours.

The load, more than six metres wide and weighing 450 tonnes, will travel north up the M6 from junction 34 near Lancaster in Lancashire all the way through Cumbria - straddling two lanes of the carriageway. 

It will then move into Scotland up the A74(M) where it will turn and head south – re-joining the M6 and then leaving the southbound carriageway at junction 45.

Once in Cumbria, the vehicle will park on a closed lane of the northbound exit slip road at junction 39 for a planned break before resuming its journey.  

The load will be moving at around 12 mph along the M6 and drivers are being asked to exercise extra patience and care when overtaking in lane three of the motorway. 

The enormous apparatus is expected to bolster the shift toward clean energy, supporting wind power generation in southern Scotland.

National Highways’ abnormal loads manager Gordon Beattie said: “This is an unusually wide abnormal loads movement but we’ve been liaising with the police as well as the authorities in Scotland to keep any disruption to other drivers’ journeys to a minimum.”

Drivers are advised to check traffic conditions before setting out on journeys. Live traffic information is always available at www.trafficengland.com or from National Highways’ 24-7 customer contact centre at 0300 123 5000.

Updates will also be posted to @HighwaysNWest – National Highways’ regional X feed.