Work begins on long-awaited bypass project

Local MPs Jonathan Reynolds (centre) and Jon Pearce (far right) helped mark the beginning of construction

Construction has officially begun on a long-awaited bypass project aimed at reducing traffic congestion between Manchester and Sheffield.

The A57 Link Roads Project, also known as the Mottram bypass, will go around the Tameside village on a route between the two cities.

Two roads and an underpass are expected to take two years to build, with construction set to be completed in Spring 2028, National Highways said.

Labour MP for High Peak Jon Pearce said the beginning of construction was a "massive moment" many thought "would never happen" after the idea was first mooted as early as 1965.

"The congestion has just been awful for years and is only getting worse," he said.

Locals in Mottram have campaigned for decades for a bypass to be built around the village.

In 2020, National Highways revealed about 25,000 vehicles travelled along the A57 through Mottram every day, including more than 2,000 HGVs.

The A57 project will see two new link roads built through the Peak District

However, delays to the scheme included the Campaign to Protect Rural England seeking a judicial review of the plans, claiming the government had failed to consider the environmental impact, alternatives sites and the project's carbon footprint.

But the challenge failed in April 2024.

Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde Jonathan Reynolds said: "This is a victory for the residents who have had to endure endless traffic jams for far too long."

The first new link road in the scheme will be dual carriageway from the M67 Junction 4 roundabout to a new junction on the A57 at Mottram Moor.

The second will be a single carriageway link from the A57 at Mottram Moor to a new junction on the A57 in Woolley Bridge.