A sinkhole has halted traffic on a busy road in east Manchester since March, with no sign of Alan Turing Way reopening soon. The northbound section between Ashton Old Road and Grey Mare Lane has been coned off for months, and Manchester council has been conducting investigative works that are yet to be completed. The actual repair work is expected to take a considerable amount of time, given the sinkhole's size.
Residents face severe delays
Newton Heath resident David Carey regularly uses the route towards south Manchester to visit his son and granddaughter. A journey that usually takes 20 minutes in off-peak times has taken over an hour for months. He avoids the commute during peak traffic times due to how busy the junction becomes, and says the lights leading to the junction where diversions begin cause a large tailback.
Despite being a Manchester City fan, the 59-year-old fears that with the football season restarting, traffic around the Etihad Stadium will become unbearable at weekends as well as weekdays. He wants to see actual work being done or at least a timeline of what is going on.
No timeline provided
David told the Manchester Evening News: “The football season has restarted, so then you have GMP manipulating the traffic lights to get traffic away from the Etihad and the Co-op Live arena. Then the northbound lights are very quick after these events.”
He described a recent weekend trip after a Man City match: “We set off and it took 65 minutes to do a 20 minute journey. I appreciate the reason for the closure as it was a big sinkhole. But we are now more than 165 days, and counting, and we have not even got the completion of the study. No one knows how long it will take.”
David added: “It is rare for anyone to see any work happening on it. It all seems to be investigative work so far. There has been no update provided to the public. The council said work will continue into the autumn. There should be a timetable.”
Council cites safety and complexity
The council says it is taking time to ensure public safety and futureproof the road. Highways bosses explained the investigation has been particularly complex due to the nature of the cavity beneath the road. Specialist ground investigation contractors have been required to help establish its root cause, which has lengthened the timescale for the repair.
The excavation at Alan Turing Way is approximately 6.4m by 6.3m and extends around 6m below ground level. Specialist contractors have drilled 50m below the road surface to help engineers fully understand the ground conditions and develop the most appropriate long-term repair solution. The town hall says repair works will only be carried out when it is believed safe to do so.
MP involvement and past precedent
David said his local MP, Lucy Powell, has been in touch to tell him she has been in contact with the council over the issue. The Manchester Central MP told him she was given an estimate of completed works by the end of October. However, no timescale for completion has been made public by the local authority. A council spokesperson has agreed to look into what information on the project can be made public to reassure residents.
The last major sinkhole event in Manchester hit the Mancunian Way in 2015, taking around 10 months to fix. David had hoped for a quicker turnaround for a smaller stretch of road, but he isn’t holding his breath. He noted the Mancunian Way closure took just over nine months, and said: “We are approaching that for a smaller stretch of road here.”
He highlighted the impact of a Man City home game and an event at Co-op Live potentially drawing 100,000 attendees while the road is closed. “It’s getting darker and we are diverting traffic to get around this. The potential for a road traffic accident increases significantly,” he said. “Because the nearby houses haven’t been evacuated, it is clearly a localised event. So how can it be that bad?”
The council has called for patience on the complex project. It has not detailed whether a different route diversion or moving some traffic to the southbound carriageway is possible. Councillor Mandie Shilton Godwin, executive member for clean air, environment and transport, said: “We entirely understand the desire from residents to see Alan Turing Way reopened but first and foremost we have to put their safety above all other considerations.”
She added: “The void, which was discovered under the road, has presented a complex set of challenges both in terms of additional investigation and creating a plan to repair the road. We are working with a specialised contractor to carry out the investigatory works and come up with a lasting solution that will prevent similar events happening in the future. This however, is taking time and we acknowledge the disruption this is causing for local residents. We will do our best to keep them informed when we have new information on the road. I would like to thank them for their ongoing patience.”
