Snake Pass now closed until next week amid landslip fears

The infamous Snake Pass is now shut until next week for a series of major road repairs amid fears over ongoing landslips.

Motorists who use the A57 - which links Greater Manchester and Sheffield - now face a seven-mile diversion across the Pennines while roadworks take place. Two sections of the road are being resurfaced over the next ten days, with patch repairs also taking place along the road at various spots.

Cyclists will be able to continue using the road, but only the portion of the road between Glossop and Snake Pass Summit will be accessible, as no work will be taking place there.

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The road - notorious for its challenging driving conditions, especially during extreme weather - shut to vehicles yesterday (Monday) and is set to reopen on October 25. The closure comes just weeks after council officials painted a perilous picture about the future of the road, which claimed two lives following a crash in August.

It is often the first route to close and last to reopen each winter due to bouts of snow, with laborious diversions then required for the vital thoroughfare, which is used by 30,000 vehicles a week.

On a visit to the route in September, Julian Gould, the council’s highways director, and councillor Charlotte Cupit, cabinet member for highways assets and transport, outlined the challenges the authority faces and what it is aiming to do within its constrained resources.

They detailed that the route is in a constant state of slipping, with 'interventions' now needed more frequently than ever before, now down to six to 12 months from a previous typical gap of eight years, due to increasing bouts of heavy rain caused by climate change.

With the council constrained by a highways capital budget of £27 million per year, which needs to cover the whole county, Snake Pass solutions are not able to be as effectively permanent as would be preferred.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: "The A57 Snake Pass will be closed from Monday, October 14 until Friday, October 25 for repairs and annual maintenance. We’re resurfacing two parts of Snake Pass where there are ongoing landslips, doing some patching repairs to the road surface at various places, carrying out regular drainage works, hedge trimming, tree felling for Ash dieback and some wall repairs.

"We know that cyclists enjoy riding the pass when it is closed, they can cycle up from the Glossop end of the pass to the summit and return the same way as there is no work taking place there. For safety reasons, we’d recommend cyclists do not ride up from the Sheffield side as it will be a construction site with full-width resurfacing works taking place in some parts.

"A signed diversion will be in place and access will be maintained for those who live on the pass. Apologies for the inconvenience caused but we continue to try to manage the significant landslips on this road to do everything we can to keep it open."