Although the proposed tunnel would help facilitate more journeys between Manchester and Sheffield, it would also pass through the “highest and most difficult terrain”, according to a Highways England report published in 2020.
The Trans-Pennine Strategic Road Link was conceived to upgrade the notoriously poor existing 40-mile (64km) road between the two northern cities. As well as being congested, the road is typically closed for an average of 70 days a year due to bad weather and dangerous driving conditions.
Conceding that existing road links are in a poor state and in need of investment, transport body TfN said “a tunnelled dual carriageway may not be the answer” and would involve “significant challenges”. It has advised the government that more work should be done to look at environmentally sustainable solutions for both road and rail across the Pennines.
However, in a letter to transport secretary Grant Shapps, TfN did not rule out the tunnel idea altogether, conceding that a shorter, single-bore tunnel could be considered – if financially viable.
