Woodhead Pass: Man seriously injured in crash which closed major Sheffield to Manchester Pennine route

Emergency services were sent to the scene after the crash which also involved a van, earlier this morning, with South Yorkshire Police and ambulance service paramedics both sent to the incident.

The road, which was closed in both directions re-opened only a few minutes ago, say police

South Yorkshire Police have issued a statement over the incident, which closed the road for over an hour and a half.

They said: “We were called to a road traffic collision between a van and a motorbike on the A628 Woodhead Pass at 10.33am today (21 June).”

“The rider of the motorbike, a 54-year-old man, was injured in the collision and taken to hospital with serious injuries. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

“The road was closed following the incident but police say it has now re-opened after emergency services finished their work at the scene.”

The incident caused delays on the roads leading up to the A628 Woodhead Pass, which is one of the main cross Pennine links between Sheffield and Manchester.

A report in 2018 named the Woodhead as a ‘dangerous’ road, when motoring specialists LeaseCar.uk compiled a list of perilous UK roads that car owners should be wary of when cold weather sets in.

They said it is often exposed to high winds and other bad weather due to its altitude, but this does not discourage large amounts of heavy traffic using the road, increasing the potential danger on this route.

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There were proposals at one stage for a tunnel to form part of the Woodhead.

Plans first drawn up in 2015 were downscaled, but a tunnel as part of the A628 Woodhead Pass has still remained as a hope. More recent proposals were to build a tunnel, around five or six miles long, through the highest section of the route. It would be a single bore, single carriageway tunnel.

The scheme would also look to create more passing places on the route, according to transport experts in 2021.

But there is work being done on a Mottram bypass, which is expected to speed up the journey from the end of the M67 to both the Snake Pass and the Woodhead Pass on the west side of the Pennines.