View source for M67 motorway

{{Short description|Motorway in Greater Manchester, England}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{infobox road
|country=GBR
|type=M
|route=67
|maint=[[National Highways]]
|map = {{switcher
  | {{maplink-road|from=M67 motorway.map}}M67 highlighted in blue{{hr}}
  | Show interactive map
  | [[File:M67 motorway in North West England map.svg|frameless|x323px]]<br />Shown with North West England motorway network{{hr}}
  | Show North West England motorways map
  }}
|map_custom=yes
|map_notes=
|image=M67 to A57 junction from the air.jpg
|image_notes=The east end with the M67 on the right, 2017
|length_mi=5.0
|direction_a=West 
|direction_b=East
|terminus_a=[[Denton Island]]
|terminus_b=[[Hattersley]]
|destinations=[[Manchester]], [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]], [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], [[Sheffield]], [[Barnsley]]
|established=1978
|history=Constructed 1978–81
|junction=[[File:Junction 1.svg|1000x20px]] [[File:UK-Motorway-M60.svg|1000x20px]]<br />J1 → [[M60 motorway]]
|previous_type = M
|next_type = M
|previous_route = 66
|next_route = 69
}}
The '''M67''' is a {{convert|5|mi|km|0|adj=mid|-long}} urban motorway in [[Greater Manchester]], England, which heads east from the [[M60 motorway]] passing through [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]] and [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]] before ending near [[Mottram in Longdendale|Mottram]]. The road was originally conceived as the first section of a trans-[[Pennines|Pennine]] motorway between [[Manchester]] and [[Sheffield]] that would connect the [[A57(M) motorway]] with the [[M1 motorway]]; however, the motorway became the only part to be built.

Numerous calls have been made over the decades to complete the motorway link between Manchester and Sheffield, the second and ninth most populous urban areas within the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx|title=2011 Census - Built-up areas|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|access-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Peak District tunnel idea 'should be looked at' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-19799908 |work=BBC News |date=2 October 2012 |access-date=30 October 2012}}</ref> Traffic between the cities is mainly divided between the [[Snake Pass|Snake]] ([[A57 road|A57]]) and [[Longdendale|Woodhead]] ([[A628 road|A628]]) passes, which traverse the [[Peak District]]. Several plans were suspended and a proposal to link the two cities with a tunnelled scheme underneath the Peak District did not go ahead. In 2024, plans for the [[Longdendale Bypass]], a road that will bypass the heavily congested section of the A57 in [[Mottram in Longdendale|Mottram]], were approved and cleared for construction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-29 |title=Mottram A57 bypass plans to progress as legal challenge fails |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72p1p0503lo |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lythgoe |first=George |date=2024-04-26 |title=This road's been talked about since 1965 - now it's finally set to be built |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/roads-been-talked-1965-now-29068361 |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}</ref>

==Route==
The M67 heads east from the [[M60 motorway]], passing through [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]] and [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]] before ending near [[Mottram in Longdendale|Mottram]]. From the end of the motorway traffic can either follow the [[A628 road]] or the [[A57 road]] further east to the [[M1 motorway]] and [[Sheffield]].

Before the motorway reaches its eastern terminal at [[Hattersley]]/Mottram roundabout (where traffic continues along the A57 into [[Longdendale]]), there are the stub 'ski ramps' where the motorway would have continued eastwards,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Tameside&ie=UTF8&ll=53.454781,-2.033962&spn=0.00145,0.004233&t=h&z=18&om=0 |title=Google maps aerial photography of the ski ramps at Mottram|access-date=25 January 2008}}</ref> as there are at the western end.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Tameside&ie=UTF8&ll=53.456531,-2.130436&spn=0.00145,0.004233&t=h&z=18&om=0 |title=Google Maps aerial photography – ski ramps at west end of M67|access-date=25 January 2008}}</ref>

==History==
In 1965, the Ministry of Transport asked [[Halcrow Group|Halcrow]] to report on a route selected by the [[county surveyor]] of Cheshire and this led, in stages, to the development of the design to partial urban and partial rural motorway standards.<ref name=MA_M67>{{cite web |url=https://www.ciht.org.uk/ukma/motorways-by-region/m67/ |title=M67 Hyde By-pass and Denton Relief Road |work=UK Motorway Archive |access-date=7 January 2021 |publisher=CIHT |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109023531/https://www.ciht.org.uk/ukma/motorways-by-region/m67/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> There was a public inquiry in 1967.<ref>{{cite Hansard |house=House of Commons |title=Written Answers: M67 (Denton) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1976/aug/05/m67-denton |date=5 August 1976 |volume=916 |column=972W |access-date=25 January 2008}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2021}} The first section to be opened was the 'M67 Hyde Bypass' which was constructed between 1975 and 1978.<ref name=MA_M67/> M67 Denton Relief Road to the west was constructed between 1978 and 1981.<ref name=MA_M67/> These schemes are connected by a viaduct over the [[River Tame, Yorkshire|River Tame]] and [[Peak Forest Canal]].

===M67 Manchester to Sheffield motorway===
In 1967, at the time of the first public inquiry there were discussions regarding an extension of the motorway across the Peak District National Park.<ref>{{cite Hansard |house=House of Commons |title=M67 (Peak District National Park) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1976/jun/23/m67-peak-district-national-park |date=23 June 1976 |volume=913 |column_start=1579 |column_end=1581 |access-date=25 January 2008}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2021}} It was to provide a second motorway link across the [[Pennines]] to the south of the planned [[M62 motorway|M62]] and avoid the [[Snake Pass|Snake]] and [[Woodhead pass|Woodhead]] passes, which are often closed in snowy weather.

The full proposed route was to start from [[Manchester city centre]] at what was the [[A57(M) motorway]] eastern terminal roundabout (now a flyover for the A635, constructed in 1995), following the line of the A57 Hyde Road through the inner suburbs of [[Ardwick]], [[Gorton]] and Debdale Park. Large-scale demolition took place along the line of the motorway (which is still evident today), tied in with the widening of the Belle Vue and Reddish Lane junctions.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

From there the intended route follows the present-day M67, skirting Hyde and Denton. Upon reaching Mottram, the route passed the village to the north (through a tunnel), then crossed Mottram Moor to skirt [[Hollingworth]] through the [[River Etherow|Etherow]] valley floor. The motorway would then have run around the side of [[Bottoms Reservoir, Derbyshire|Bottoms Reservoir]] to reach [[Hadfield, Derbyshire|Hadfield]], from which the trackbed of the Woodhead railway line (the former intercity route between Manchester and Sheffield, now closed) was to have been followed up the [[Longdendale]] valley to [[Woodhead, Derbyshire|Woodhead]]. At Woodhead, the route would have diverged, with one carriageway entering the [[Woodhead Tunnel|Woodhead Rail Tunnel]] (now disused) and the other rising on a sweeping viaduct to go over a realigned Woodhead Pass.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Beyond the Pennine watershed, the motorway would have continued on a new alignment past the villages of [[Langsett]] and [[Midhopestones]], before meeting the route of the current [[Stocksbridge bypass]].{{cn|date=September 2024}}
The Stocksbridge bypass would have been constructed on its present alignment and continued directly onto the M1 at junction 35a.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Another part of the originally planned "M67" exists in [[South Yorkshire]], as the [[A616 road|A616]] [[Stocksbridge bypass]], which opened in 1989. As there was no certainty that the whole M67 scheme would be completed by this time, the then government decided that the scheme would not be built with motorway characteristics, but as a single carriageway with crawler lanes.

==Proposed developments==
===A57/A628 Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle Bypass===
{{main|Longdendale Bypass}}
Plans for a road at the eastern end of the M67 passing to the north of the current [[A628 road|A628]] route past [[Mottram in Longdendale|Mottram]], [[Hollingworth]] and [[Tintwistle]] were cancelled in 2009 following four adjournments of the public inquiry due to inconsistencies in the official traffic models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.persona.uk.com/mottram/index.htm |title=The Mottram/Tintwistle Bypass and Glossop Spur Public Inquiry |access-date=25 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816180814/http://www.persona.uk.com/mottram/index.htm |archive-date=16 August 2007 }}</ref>

===Manchester to Sheffield Peak District Tunnel===
After the cancellation of the Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle Bypass, there are now proposals to build a tunnel underneath the Peak District to link Manchester and Sheffield, with some of the proposed tunnel routes using the existing M67 route to link the M60 and M1 motorways.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37116050|title=Routes unveiled for Sheffield-Manchester road tunnel plan|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref> In 2017, this was later scaled down into a partially tunnelled route along the existing Woodhead Pass due to rising costs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Revised Trans-Pennine tunnel to be shorter |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42373153 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=10 August 2018}}</ref>

==Junctions==
{| class="plainrowheaders wikitable"
|-
!scope=col|County
!scope=col|Location
!scope=col|mi
!scope=col|km
!scope=col|Junction
!scope=col|Destinations
!scope=col|Notes
|-
| rowspan="5" |[[Greater Manchester]]
| rowspan="3" |[[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]]
|0
|0
|1<ref group=coord>{{coord|53.4569|-2.1360|name=Junction 1 of M67}}</ref>
|{{jct|country=GBR|M|60}}&nbsp;– Stockport, Oldham <br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|57}}&nbsp;– [[Manchester city centre|Central Manchester]]
|
|-
|0.9
|1.4
| bgcolor="ffdddd" |1a<ref group=coord>{{coord|53.4582|-2.1150|name=Junction 1a of M67}}</ref>
| bgcolor="ffdddd" |{{jct|country=GBR|A|6017}}&nbsp;– [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]], [[Ashton-under-Lyne|Ashton under Lyne]]
| bgcolor="ffdddd" |No westbound exit or eastbound entrance
|-
|1.5
|2.4
| bgcolor="ffdddd" |2<ref group=coord>{{coord|53.4562|-2.1003|name=Junction 2 of M67}}</ref>
| bgcolor="ffdddd" |{{jct|country=GBR|A|57}}&nbsp;– [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]]
| bgcolor="ffdddd" |No eastbound exit or westbound entrance
|-
|[[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]]
|2.4
|3.8
|3<ref group=coord>{{coord|53.4530|-2.0785|name=Junction 3 of M67}}</ref>
|{{jct|country=GBR|A|57}}&nbsp;– [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], [[Denton, Greater Manchester|Denton]] <br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|627}}&nbsp;– [[Dukinfield]]
|
|-
|—
|4.7
|7.6
|4<ref group=coord>{{coord|53.4547|-2.0247|name=Junction 4 of M67}}</ref>
|{{jct|country=GBR|A|57}}&nbsp;– [[Hyde, Greater Manchester|Hyde]], [[Glossop]], [[Sheffield]] <br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|560}}&nbsp;– [[Stockport]]
|
|-
{{jctbtm|exit|keys=incomplete}}
[[Ceremonial counties of England|*Ceremonial Counties]]
;Coordinate list
<references group=coord/>

==See also==
*[[List of motorways in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Longdendale Bypass]]
*[[Woodhead Tunnel]]
*[[Woodhead Line]]

==Notes==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}
* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m67/ CBRD Motorway Database – M67]
* [http://pathetic.org.uk/current/m67/ Pathetic Motorways – M67]
* [http://pathetic.org.uk/unbuilt/m67_manchester_to_sheffield_motorway/ Pathetic Motorways – Manchester to Sheffield Motorway]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080313203846/http://www.iht.org/motorway/m67hydden.htm The Motorway Archive – M67]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040725020708/http://gmcro.co.uk/ftpfiles/groups/gmtag.pdf Greater Manchester Records office – Transport Archives]

{{UK motorways}}
{{Motorways and Trunk Roads in England}}
{{Transport in Greater Manchester}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0067}}
[[Category:Motorways in England]]
[[Category:Roads in Greater Manchester]]