Work on a major new bypass aimed of alleviating a village’s traffic issues has left residents living nearby dealing with “a lot of stress” and unable to make plans due to the congestion it has caused.
Work on the A57 link roads at Mottram in Longdendale on Tameside, which aims to improve journey times between Manchester and Sheffield, began in 2024 and is due to be completed in 2028.
However, those living in the neighbouring villages of Hollingworth and Tintwistle, which will not be bypassed, said the upheaval meant even small errands left them “stuck in traffic for hours”.
National Highways said it remained “committed to working with partners and the community to keep disruption to a minimum”.
Maureen Savage, who owns Thorncliffe Barn Day Nursery in Hollingworth, said parents were often late picking up their children because of the traffic.
“Some children are falling asleep, so by the time they get home, they don’t want to go to bed and that affects how they feel the next day,” she said.
“You’ve got little babies who are crying because they want to go home so it’s very upsetting.”
The 71-year-old added that parents “stuck in the traffic” were getting “really frustrated” by the situation.
Local people have campaigned for a bypass around the three villages for decades.
At the end of 2024, work began on a new road, which will run from Junction 4 of the M67, across the A57 at Mottram Moor, and then extend towards Glossop.
However, it will not bypass Tintwistle and Hollingworth.
Emily Britton, 45, has lived in Hollingworth for eight years.
She said locals “haven’t been able to see family because they’ve been stuck in traffic and my husband hasn’t been able to get home for the children’s bedtime”.
“You don’t feel like you can plan anything, because you can be stuck in traffic for hours just going to the park, driving for a play date or trying to see grandparents,” she added.
Shaheen Naz has lived in Hollingworth for 21 years.
The 64-year-old said he had “a quadruple heart bypass five years ago and the traffic causes a Iot of stress”.
“Recently, a journey to Stockport, that would normally take about 20 minutes, took over two hours, because I was stuck on the M67.”
The scheme is led by National Highways, which has apologised for disruption caused on 27 October by gas diversion works at nearby Back Moor in Mottram.
“The works were not scheduled through our usual approval process and we requested their immediate removal,” a spokesperson said.
Gas distribution company Cadent also apologised and said there were “big lessons for everyone to learn here and, as such, we have decided to pause any further work on this gas pipeline diversion”.
“This allows time for conversations to happen between all parties,” a spokesperson added.