Woodhead Pass: How long temporary lights will be in place, as bosses reveal plans to close route for repairs
Highways bosses have announced plans to close a major Sheffield Transpennine route for repairs.
National Highways are having to take action after damage was caused to the surface of the Woodhead Pass in the early hours of Monday, after a crash involving a lorry, which closed the route for several hours.
It is part of one of the main routes connecting Sheffield to Manchester.
A spokesman for National Highways said the road would be closed on Thursday evening and Friday morning for resurfacing in the area where the crash happened.
Two way traffic lights are operating on the route in the mean time, as part of the carriageway is currently reduced to one lane.
The spokesman told The Star: “The two-way traffic lights will remain in place until Thursday evening, when there will be a full closure from 8pm until 6am for resurfacing.
“This will allow for planned safety improvement work on the nearby A616 to go ahead in the meantime.”
The driver of the lorry involved in Monday’s incident was taken to hospital for checks. His vehicle had collided with a wall.
The disruption to the Woodhead Pass comes at a time when the city’s other route over the Pennines, the A57 Snake Pass, currently has two sets of traffic lights on sections which are single lane only as a result of land slips.
Mayors Oliver Coppard and Andy Burnham are holding ongoing talks over the future of Sheffield’s transport links with Manchester, amid concerns over the future of the Snake Pass.
Both Mr Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, and Mr Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, want to improve links between the cities after concerns were raised over how the Snake Pass can be repaired following a number of landslips in recent years.
There are concerns over how Derbyshire Council can afford major repairs, as it is responsible for the road rather than National Highways, which operates the Woodhead Pass, further north.