MOTORISTS are set to face disruption on Mottram Moor over a series of weekends.
Contractors will be installing new low-pressure gas mains and carrying out electricity diversion works as part of the A57 Link Roads project.
National Highways say the essential utility works will reduce traffic to a single lane in each direction across four consecutive weekends.
The government company responsible for the country’s motorways and main A roads adds that traffic management will be in place from 6am on Saturday to 6am on Monday every weekend to allow the work to be done safely.
The affected weekends are Saturday, September 27, to Monday, September 29; Saturday, October 4, to Monday, October 6; Saturday, October 11, to Monday, October 13; and Saturday, October 18 to Monday, October 20.
While construction work will only take place during the day, the lane closures will remain in place for 48 hours. Residents living nearby are being warned they may hear some daytime noise from the work, although National Highways say efforts will be made to keep disturbance to a minimum.
The work is likely to cause delays on one of the borough’s busiest stretches of road, particularly at peak travel times.
National Highways, which is leading on the project, says the traffic management is needed to ensure the safety of both workers and road users. They also warned that closures can 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.
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.