One of Greater Manchester's most infamous roads is about to get even busier, as gas works set to last 20 WEEKS are scheduled to start next month.
Mottram Moor is one of the busiest roads in the region, and has gained quite a reputation over the years for being an absolute nightmare.
If you've ever travelled between Manchester and Sheffield, there's a good chance you've been stuck in some sort of queue in the village of Hollingworth, on the border of Tameside and Derbyshire.
READ MORE:
The road, which varies between a single and dual-carriageway, is often seen filled with cars, lorries, and vans sitting bumper to bumper.
Walking through the village is difficult to enjoy, with the air noticeably heavier than it is on the nearby moorland, and the overwhelming thunder of traffic.
But soon, the congestion will be even worse, with essential gas line maintenance needing 20 weeks to complete, meaning lane closures and temporary traffic lights will be needed.
"I'm not happy about it," said one resident, just before she rushed back inside to look after her great-grandson.
"Not for 20 weeks. Two weeks, five weeks, fine, but not 20."
Many other residents shared similar views of exasperation about the street, which has long been a problem for people in the area.
Stephen Lester has lived in his house on Market Street, near the junction of Mottram Moor and Woolley Lane, for over 20 years, and has always seen the traffic as a major problem.
He said: "It's going to cause absolute chaos. We've lived here 23 years and look at it, it's the worst it's ever been.
"There's hardly any roadworks on at the moment and it's horrific out there, during lockdown it was great, you could have sat down for a picnic in the middle of the street if you wanted to but it's just horrendous.
"It just keeps getting worse, there's more and more traffic now."
Robert Largan, the MP for High Peak, also expressed his frustration at the proposed work, claiming the delays showed how important the long-proposed Mottram Bypass was.
He said: "The road is heavily gridlocked at the best of times. But this is going to make it even worse, especially given the closure of the Snake Pass.
"The situation will be worsened further as Northern are currently running a significantly reduced railway timetable on the Glossop line into Manchester too.
"I understand that negotiations to do the works from the neighbouring land failed, which means the road has to be dug up, causing what will no doubt be traffic chaos.
"I am raising this issue with the highways authority, to see if there is any possible alternative and to see whether the timing could be changed to make this less disruptive.
"I’m also taking up the reduced timetable with Northern, trying to get more frequent train services reinstated as quickly as possible. We’ve got to find a way to reduce commuter misery.
"In the long run, this shows once again how important it is that we get the Mottram Bypass built. We’re getting there, with archaeological work already underway along the planned route."
Snake Pass, on of the main routes between Sheffield and Manchester, had to close at the end of February after heavy rainfall in a series of storms saw massive landslips take place, leaving some sections of the road completely exposed with no support.
The closure, which is expected to be in place until at least the end of March, has forced more traffic to head towards Tintwistle and cross the Peak District by heading past Woodhead, resulting in increased congestion.
However, this route change just switches which direction traffic heads at the junction of Market Street, Mottram Moor, and Woolley Lane, meaning the volume of traffic passing through the area hasn't seen a significant change.
Another resident, who gave her name as Sue, said the volume of traffic, especially heavy goods vehicles, was a consistent problem to residents.
She said: "It's such a problem anyway I doubt it'll affect any of us that much to be honest.
"My house is constantly shaking with the lorries going past and it's always so noisy, it's a nightmare anyway so I can't really see how it can get much worse.
"I suppose it'll be difficult for people going to work or appointments that have fixed times but they'll just have to leave even earlier than usual - I always leave with a lot of time spare because you never know how bad it's going to be."
The work will run from Woolley Lane, onto Mottram Moor, to Back Moor, and then onto Stalybridge Road, as workers lay 1,400m of new pipes under the surface.
Gas network Cadent has tried to give residents enough warning, and apologised for the inconvenience - but said the work was necessary as more and more houses were being built in the area.
Craig Horrocks, head of Cadent’s North West investment planning office, said: “Growth in this area has put a significant strain on the gas network. We are now concerned about meeting demand and have a legal duty to resolve that.
“A local power generation site also urgently needs more gas to create electricity for the same area.
“Our team has tried, for several years, to negotiate with multiple private landowners to lay this new pipe through fields. We haven’t been able to reach agreements and the situation is now such that we need to act, by installing it under roads.
“Installing the new pipe also helps future-proof this part of the network, helping to ensure it’s ready to distribute hydrogen when that starts to arrive in the North West soon. Hydrogen is key to securing a net zero energy future.
“This is a busy road and it’s impossible not to have any impact on traffic. We’ve been liaising over many months now with agencies such as National Highways, Transport for Greater Manchester and Tameside Council, to minimise disruption.”
Work will begin on April 4, and is set to last 20 weeks where workers are hoping to avoid any total road closures, instead putting lane closures and temporary traffic lights in place.
