ONE of the biggest emergency services simulations in the country’s history will take place on the M62 this weekend.

The motorway is due to be shut between junction 10 at Croft and junction 12 at Eccles overnight between 9pm on Saturday, August 10, and 9am on Sunday, August 11, due to roadworks.

And during the closure around 100 emergency services workers from across Cheshire and Greater Manchester will take part in a staged major incident.

A simulated crash – codenamed Exercise Dark Knight – will involve an overturned coach, two lorries, eight cars and a motorbike.

Chris Chadwick, Northwest resilience co-ordinator at Highways England, said: “Our motorways are among the safest in the world, and we help to keep them safe by carefully planning what we’d do on the rare occasions when there’s a major incident.

“We normally have to do this away from the motorway to avoid disruption to drivers, but will be able to make our latest scenario as realistic as possible by carrying out Exercise Dark Knight on the M62 when it’s already closed overnight for major construction work.

“We’re working closely with the emergency services on the exercise and are grateful to the volunteers who are giving up their time to help make our motorways safer for everyone.”

Extra lanes and new technology are being added to the nine-mile stretch of the M62 currently undergoing roadworks.

During closures, a diversion will take traffic on an alternative route along the M6, A556 and M56.