WORK on the long-awaited A57 Link Roads project in Tameside is gathering pace, as motorists are warned of road closures and diversions.
This includes two-way temporary traffic lights being in place, coinciding with the start of the new academic year for some schools and colleges.
From Monday, September 8, National Highways says traffic signals on Roe Cross Road will be rearranged to allow utility works to take place between 7.30am and 6pm, with two-way traffic lights in operation.
The government company responsible for the country’s motorways and main A roads is continuing to clear the site around Four Lanes, Old Road, Tollemache Close and Old Hall Lane in Mottram, as part of the £228 million scheme.
Environmental assessments, utility works and clearing trees are all under way, with this stage due to be complete by the end of October.
As of this week, a section of Old Hall Lane is closed at its junction with Tollemache Close for safety reasons. Traffic is being diverted by Hall Drive while pedestrians are being guided safely through the closure by traffic marshals.
Work is also progressing on the construction of a temporary road linking Roe Cross Road with Old Road. Over the coming weeks, contractors will begin shaping the ground to create a stable base.
Elsewhere, sections of vegetation are now being cleared at Woolley Bridge – with a lane closure and temporary traffic lights in place between 9am and 3.30pm.
New fencing is being installed along the boundary of the site, with National Highways also pledging that “extensive replanting” will happen once the scheme is complete.
National Highways has warned that all road closures remain subject to change at short notice.
A reminder of what the project entails
The A57 Link Roads project – which will see a new dual carriageway run from the end of the M67 through a Mottram underpass to the A57 east of Back Moor, along with a new single carriageway from Mottram Moor to Woolley Bridge – has been decades in the making.
First proposed more than 60 years ago, the long-debated scheme was finally given the go-ahead last year after legal challenges were dismissed.
In May, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site near the M67 roundabout, attended by local politicians including Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds, who hailed the project as transformational for the area.
National Highways and partners Balfour Beatty have been holding a latest series of public information events – including an appearance at this year’s Mottram Show – to keep residents updated.
Set to be complete in 2028, the scheme will create two new junctions – Mottram Moor Junction and Woolley Bridge Junction – and improve the existing M67 junction four. Five new structures will also be built, including the Roe Cross Road Overbridge, the Mottram Underpass, and the River Etherow Bridge.