Denshaw junction and plans – letter from Denshaw Village Association
One up but still one to go!
Letter from Alan Roughly, Chairman of the Denshaw Village Association:
It came out of the blue when we met with Highways England, (responsible for motorway diversions), Oldham Council Traffic Management and our MP, Debbie Abrahams, on 22nd June.
After two years of patient discussions we had reached a point where Highways England acknowledged that the notorious five ‘A’ roads junction at Denshaw was one of the very worst junctions in North West England. Six months ago they had included it in a pilot improvement scheme, to be in place by 2020.
We fully expected temporary traffic lights, to come on when the M62 is closed because of an accident or bad weather. Alternatively, a completely redesigned layout to enable heavy goods vehicles to smoothly pass through the junction seemed possible.
Instead, they have made the radical decision to totally replace the present diversionary route. Ever since the M62 opened, when an accident occurs anywhere between J21 Milnrow and J23 Huddersfield Outlane, traffic is diverted from Milnrow over the A640 Newhey- Denshaw hill and left at Denshaw Junction to go up the A672 to J22 Windy Hill. That is the present official route but is complicated by many drivers using the A640 stretch from J23 Outlane to Denshaw as an alternative, often causing complete gridlock at the Denshaw crossroads.
The new route diverts either all east or westbound – or both – traffic streams off the motorway between J21 Milnrow and J24 at Elland. Going east, the new route is from J21 onto the A664 towards Rochdale, turning onto the A58 through Littleborough, Ripponden and Sowerby Bridge, rejoining the M62 at J24 Elland. When the M62 is partially or completely closed, the appropriate entrances and exits to the M62 at J22 Windy Hill and J23 Outlane will also be closed.
The reasoning is that the A672 Windy Hill down to Denshaw and the A640 Denshaw – Newhey are basically narrow nineteenth century toll roads, whereas all the roads on the new route have been widened to more modern standards. With the exception of the A58 Littleborough – Ripponden stretch, all the new route is at a low level, far less likely to be affected by bad weather. It may be longer than the present route but at least passes though districts where drivers can use local shops and toilets.
We think that the steepness of our local hills and the Pennine weather has had a big influence. There cannot be many roads that have permanent ‘Ice’ warning signs as does the Denshaw – Newhey road. The dreadful weather in February this year when Denshaw was cut off by the blizzard and 2000 people were stranded overnight on the M62 between Outlane and Milnrow must have guided the Agency’s decision. That really was a major incident and there could so easily have been a considerable number of fatalities.
The great news is that the new route will be in use from September 2018 onwards.
So far so good. We still have the ever increasing problem of traffic speeding through Denshaw. This village has been campaigning for over 40 years for something to be done but the brutal message has always been the same – ‘Not enough deaths’. Modern vehicles travel faster and passengers survive accidents when previously they would have been killed. What has been killed is any pleasure in walking around or for youngsters to be able to ride their bikes in safety.
There is an extraordinary mix of traffic on these narrow roads, from 40 tonne trucks to an ever increasing number of fast cars, racing motor bikes, groups of cyclists coming down hill at 60mph, plus massive agricultural tractors and children riding horses at a walking pace.
We have umpteen road signs and gallons of yellow paint on our roads but to little effect. However we are not giving up. The A672 through Denshaw is a major entry point into the Manchester City Region from West Yorkshire and the North East and deserves a higher priority. In these times of local government austerity we will apply pressure whenever and wherever there may be funds available.
Imagination will be needed. It ought to be possible, with our local knowledge and cooperation from the professionals, to come up with some low cost and perhaps novel solutions. We would welcome support and ideas from the many drivers who pass through our village every day.
*PS Since our meeting, the Press Dept of Highways England have issued a statement saying that they are consulting on the new M62 diversion route with those communities who will be affected!
Fingers crossed, we still hope it will be in operation by October!
Any comments for Alan, please email denshawcommunityassociation@gmail.com and mention that you saw this on SADDLEWORTH LIFE – ONLINE thanks.
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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