A57 bypass work to start in coming weeks

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

Work on a new bypass on the road that connects Greater Manchester to Sheffield will begin “in the coming weeks”, according to government budget documents.

Preliminary works on the A57 Link Roads project - aimed at reducing congestion in villages in the Peak District National Park - began on Mottram Moor earlier this month.

The exact start date of the "main construction" of the link roads has not yet been disclosed, but "scheme preparation works" will continue until the end of the year.

National Highways said overnight work would begin on 4 November from 19:30 to 06:00 GMT.

Night works to begin

As a result, one lane will be closed overnight from the layby near Mottram in Longendale to just before the BP Garage on Hyde Road for around four weeks.

"Archaeological mitigation" will begin from mid-November, with temporary cabins being moved into the area in this time in preparation for construction to begin, the agency said.

The cost of the scheme was not set out in the budget documents, which instead said “major transport projects” would be covered by the Department for Transport’s £30bn budget.

Once finished, the A57 Link Roads project will create two new link roads.

The first is the Mottram Moor Link Road – a new dual carriageway from the M67 junction 4 roundabout to a new junction on the A57(T) at Mottram Moor.

The other is the A57 Link Road – a new single carriageway link from the A57(T) at Mottram Moor to a new junction on the A57 in Woolley Bridge.

Work is expected to take three years to complete, according to the Department for Transport.

The project has divided opinion in the area, with the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) saying the new road could "harm public enjoyment" of the landscape.

But Luke Williams, transport manager at haulage firm Newell and Wright, said he was “over the moon” to hear that construction would begin this month.

In her speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves also announced new rail investments for Greater Manchester, with electrified trains set to run from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge this year, and between Wigan and Bolton in the future.