{"id":858724,"date":"2026-03-29T18:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T18:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/858724\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T18:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T18:22:35","slug":"the-bypass-60-years-in-the-making-but-things-will-get-worse-before-they-get-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/858724\/","title":{"rendered":"The bypass 60 years in the making, but ‘things will get worse before they get better’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The major bypass scheme has stirred up trouble on the edge of Greater Manchester\"Work<\/p>\n

Work on the junction of Stalybridge Road and Roe Cross Road(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

On the very edge of Greater Manchester there has been one problem that has plagued a quaint rural village – traffic.<\/p>\n

Mottram in Longdendale<\/a> has become synonymous with queuing traffic that snakes as far as the eye can see at peak times. Work on a solution to this started last year<\/a>, with spades breaking ground on the Mottram bypass, a \u00a3228m project aimed at tackling congestion between Manchester and Sheffield.<\/p>\n

This bypass, actually named the A57 link roads scheme, has never been far from conversation in the sleepy villages on the edge of Tameside<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For around 60 years the bypass was a pie in the sky idea that was only ever just talk. Now it is a reality.<\/p>\n

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As with most major highway schemes like this, things have to get better before they get worse. Nightmare traffic and longer queues are no longer feared here, they are expected.<\/p>\n

\"Phil<\/p>\n

Phil Thomas, 71, walking Dora the cockapoo(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Phil Thomas was taking his spritely cockapoo Dora for a stroll down Stalybridge<\/a> Road, just off the notorious traffic magnet that is Mottram Moor. The pensioner stopped to share his views on the bypass debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live down the road, and the traffic is just heavy all the time,\u201d the 71-year-old said. \u201cI avoid going out on the weekends because of the works.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just expect it and that\u2019s life, it wasn\u2019t going to appear overnight was it? Is it worth it is my question, because it seems like a bypass to nowhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was happy when it got approved but I didn\u2019t realise it was going to Woolly Bridge. I hoped it would go a bit closer to Woodhead.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Hollingworth and Tintwistle it will do nothing at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mottram<\/p>\n

Mottram Moor sign (Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Phil touched upon the core of the debate over the bypass – whether it goes far enough or not. Currently the A57 link roads project includes the creation of two new link roads. One is Mottram Moor link road \u2013 a new dual carriageway from the M67 junction 4 roundabout to a new junction on the A57 at Mottram Moor.<\/p>\n

The other is the A57 link road \u2013 a new single carriageway link from the A57 at Mottram Moor to a new junction on the A57 in Woolley Bridge.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The major plan is designed to relieve congestion on the A57(Image: National Highways)<\/p>\n

Many people, especially those living in the villages of Hollingworth and Tintwistle expected it to go a lot further, but the cash wasn\u2019t there from the government to extend it. Although MPs on either side of the border Jonathan Reynolds and Jon Pearce hope this can be extended in the future.<\/p>\n

For now, locals have to face the reality that this scheme is moving forward and isn\u2019t expected to be complete until 2031. For Lynda and her beloved Shetland Sheepdog Max, five more years of roadworks is a tough pill to swallow.<\/p>\n

\"Lynda<\/p>\n

Lynda with her pet pooch Max(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly altered things,” the pensioner said. \u201cI don\u2019t like it because it was so rural and nice before but it doesn\u2019t seem the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been here since 1975 and I\u2019m upset about the countryside aspect of the area being lost. It won\u2019t be the same after.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe traffic is terrible down there. But we wouldn\u2019t move as a result – it\u2019s just so nice here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lynda and her partner Roy, who admitted he liked the works because he could watch the engineering works in action, both heaped praise on the actual workers themselves. The pair explained that when roadworks were happening you could see work being done and all those in hardhats and boots were happy to answer her questions, Lynda added.<\/p>\n

\"Snaking<\/p>\n

Snaking traffic on Mottram Moor(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

This was a common theme amongst locals. National Highways were praised for their advanced communication of roadworks happening and for the efficiency of their workers.<\/p>\n

Clive and Susan Hope were walking from their home on Broadbottom when they weighed in. They\u2019re both for the bypass.<\/p>\n

Susan said: \u201cWe don\u2019t think it will make a difference the way it is. It will just move the queue further down. On the past two weekends the traffic has been a mile long. We\u2019ve just not gone anywhere those two weekends.\u201dClive added: \u201cIt has always been mentioned since we moved in the 1980s. The last two weekends it\u2019s been awful traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s got to get worse before it gets better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Wadsworth grew up just down the road at Godley Green, where a huge 2,150-home scheme is currently earmarked. The 73-year-old worries that all the greenspace and rural fabric of this section of Hyde<\/a> will be lost forever soon.<\/p>\n

\"Construction<\/p>\n

Construction work being carried out at Roe Cross Road junction with Stalybridge Road in Mottram(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Alan said: \u201cBoth my parents were farmers and all that land was lost to the Alder Hey High School. I can remember before Hattersley was built in the 60s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew land was taken up there and my dad always said they\u2019re coming for our land soon. It\u2019s taken 60 years but he was right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of cars on the road is incredible. I\u2019ve been stopped for 5 minutes just to get across Mottram Moor because of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI assume it will be better for Mottram in the end, but what Hollingworth and Tintwistle think I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s shoving all the traffic down the road to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Manchester Evening News<\/a>\/Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to the people of Hollingworth last year<\/a>, the reaction was unanimously disappointment and anger. The general consensus was that they would get all the negatives from the construction work, but zero benefit.<\/p>\n

In Mottram though the bypass is seen positively. For Gordon Tavernor, he is already seeing a benefit.<\/p>\n

\"Gordon<\/p>\n

Gordon Tavernor, 78, from Mottram(Image: LDRS)<\/p>\n

Taking a pause on repairing his front garden wall, the pensioner said: \u201cIt has been really good for the traffic around here. They\u2019ve made a new stretch of road so they can get their big trucks through to the construction site.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously the big trucks were getting access to the works along Mottram Moor. Traffic has been bad those weekends where roadworks put it down to a single lane, but since then it\u2019s been okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Highways has thanked locals for their patience during these roadworks, particularly over the last few weekends. They have apologised for any disruption and have vowed to try and keep this to a minimum in future, where possible.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “We would like to thank everyone for their ongoing patience while we built the temporary plant crossing at Mottram Moor. This work has now been successfully completed.<\/p>\n

“The crossing will enable us to move construction materials safely and efficiently across the A57. Reusing material in this way will reduce heavy vehicle movements further afield and lower carbon emissions.”<\/p>\n

The A57 link roads scheme is estimated to be up and running by 2028, but a full completion date could be as late as 2031, according to the National Highways website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The major bypass scheme has stirred up trouble on the edge of Greater Manchester Work on the junction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,10585,2465,54149,285,1026,16499,1263,16,15],"class_list":["post-858724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-hyde-and-longdendale","tag-manchester","tag-mottram","tag-politics","tag-tameside","tag-tameside-council","tag-transport","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116313859836712734","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}