MOTORISTS in Tameside are being urged to plan ahead for a fresh phase of roadworks planned on the busy A57 road through Mottram.
The latest activity centres on Mottram Moor, where overnight restrictions will be in place from Monday, April 27, to Friday, May 1, as part of the ongoing A57 Link Roads scheme.
National Highways – the government company responsible for the country’s motorways and main A roads – are preparing to bring a temporary construction crossing into use. This will be a short road that will allow heavy plant machinery to move large amounts of earth across the site.
To complete the work, traffic will be reduced to a single lane between 8pm and 6am, controlled by temporary lights. Additional signals will also be in operation at the junction of Back Moor and the Gun Inn, with vehicles taking turns to pass through. Pedestrian access will remain in place throughout.
The crossing itself, which sits on Mottram Moor, will be used for the duration of the project, with activity expected to increase during the drier summer months when ground conditions are more suitable.
Further disruption is expected nearby at Woolley Bridge, where temporary two-way lights will be in place on April 28 and 29. Between 9.30am and 3pm, traffic will run in single file while access is widened ahead of piling work.
That piling phase is due to begin on May 5 and is expected to continue until the end of July 2026.
All of the work forms part of the wider £228 million A57 Link Roads project – a long-planned scheme aimed at easing congestion on a key route between Manchester and Sheffield.
Plans include a new dual carriageway linking the end of the M67 to the A57 east of Mottram, alongside a single carriageway connecting Mottram Moor to Woolley Bridge. Two new junctions and several major structures, including a new underpass and bridge over the River Etherow, are also in the pipeline.
The full scheme is currently scheduled to be completed by spring 2029, meaning drivers in and around Mottram are likely to face periodic disruption for some time yet.