Work on the notorious 'spaghetti junction' in Rochdale is due to be completed by Christmas, the council has confirmed. The roadworks on Sudden Junction sparked chaos on the roads when they started last month, with huge queues and congestion leaving commuters fuming.
Junction Details and Works
Sudden Junction connects major roads from Heywood and Castleton with Roch Valley Way and the Rochdale bypass. The roadworks were initially due to take 12 months, but the council now hopes the 'vast majority' of the work can be completed in around seven months. The local authority says traffic problems at peak times have reduced in recent weeks.
The roadworks include installing an 'intelligent signal system' to reduce congestion and road resurfacing as part of a £5m package funded by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). Motorists will have to endure short-term disruption for long-term benefits.
Local Reaction and Improvements
Many locals described scenes similar to a 'crystal maze' when workers first descended on the junction on Monday, May 18. Councillor Dylan Williams, cabinet member for highways on Rochdale Council, said in a social media post: "In the first week they created absolute traffic chaos. I made it clear to highways and TfGM officers that this could not continue and that it was causing misery to residents across the Borough who use this junction."
He added: "I had lots of improvements put in place which significantly reduced the level of back logs and queuing. I also made it crystal clear that the contractors must be working at speed and get these works completed ahead of schedule. Some of the lane closures have been reduced and cones removed. This has significantly improved things and I am pushing to get more opened up as soon as legally possible, including the left hand lane on Manchester Road as you approach the Junction coming from Rochdale."
The highways boss also noted that the Sudden Tesco bus stop (northbound), closed due to the roadworks, is expected to reopen as early as June 16.
Monitoring and Future Plans
The council is monitoring traffic problems via CCTV and making changes to improve the situation. Actions already taken include increasing capacity southbound on the A58 and on Edinburgh Way and accelerating certain parts of the works. A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: "We're working hard to complete work at Sudden Junction ahead of schedule, alongside our cabinet member for highways, who has made achieving this one of his key priorities. We're aware that, while this work will create much shorter journeys in the long term, it has created significant disruption in the short term. We're pleased to report that disruption has reduced since the work started and are hopeful that the vast majority of this work will now complete by Christmas."
