A57 Mottram bypass: Construction work to improve Sheffield to Manchester road link to start in 2023

National Highways have confirmed construction work on the A57 bypass project between the two cities is expected to get underway in the spring after the project was approved by Transport Minister, Huw Merriman.

It will form a new link road for traffic between the Woodhead Pass and the Snake Pass, and the M67 motoway, a stretch of road which has traditionally featured queueing traffic for Sheffield motorists.

The minister approved the recommendation by the Planning Inspectorate to give the project the go ahead after six months of scrutiny which ended in May. The new two-mile bypass will run from the roundabout at the end of the M67 to a new junction on the A57 in Woolley Bridge – taking thousands of vehicles away from Mottram and removing congestion pinch points.

Stewart Jones, National Highways’ Delivery Director for major projects in the North West, said: “This news is a real landmark – not least for everyone living alongside the existing A57 who has had to put up with rising congestion, road noise, pollution and disrupted local journeys over the years as vehicle numbers have risen.

“The project will also provide relief for the thousands of commuters, hauliers and other drivers who rely on the vitally important Manchester to Sheffield route every day and we’re looking forward to the spring when we can start building.”

The bypass will feature two new link roads - a dual carriageway to the north of Mottram which will connect the motorway roundabout to the A57 at Mottram Moor and a new single carriageway road from Mottram Moor to Woolley Bridge which will separate Glossop and Hadfield traffic from vehicles travelling over the Pennines, along the A628 Woodhead Pass.

Around 25,000 vehicles travel along the A57 through Mottram every day. The new road, which is due to open in spring 2025, will help provide reliable journeys along the 25-mile trans-Pennine route between Manchester and Sheffield, connecting the M67 in the North West to the M1 in Yorkshire.

National Highways is currently planning a series of ‘next steps’ public information events which will take place at locations around Mottram in the new year.