Prime Minister Andy Burnham renews call for action on Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has renewed calls for action on Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass, bringing the condition and reliability of the two Pennine routes back into focus.

Two of the main road links between Sheffield and Manchester are once again at the centre of a debate over northern connectivity. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for action on Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass, describing the routes as “crumbling” as part of wider criticism of transport links across the Pennines.

In brief:

• Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called for action on Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass.
• The routes provide road connections between Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.
• The intervention comes alongside wider criticism of transport connections between Sheffield and Manchester.
• Snake Pass has faced repeated closures and ongoing concerns about its condition.

Why Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass remain a highways issue

The latest intervention puts two well-known Pennine routes back into the transport debate at a time when the reliability of connections between Sheffield and Manchester remains a political issue.

Burnham has described Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass as “crumbling” and called for action to improve the routes. His comments form part of a wider argument about the quality of transport connections between the two cities, including criticism of rail services across the Pennines.

For highways professionals, the condition of the routes is a more tangible issue than the political language surrounding it.

Snake Pass in particular has experienced repeated disruption, including closures linked to landslips and severe weather. Derbyshire County Council has previously warned about the difficulty and cost of maintaining the route, with active landslips presenting an ongoing engineering challenge.

That is important context for the latest political calls. The issue is not simply whether a road surface needs routine maintenance. Parts of the route have faced structural problems that require more substantial intervention.

Responsibility is another part of the debate. Snake Pass is currently maintained by Derbyshire County Council, while Burnham has previously argued that the route should be treated differently because of its importance as a connection between two major cities. The Government has so far maintained that responsibility for the road sits with Derbyshire County Council, while pointing to previous funding for improvements.

That leaves a clear gap between the political argument and any confirmed change in how the route is funded or managed.

Woodhead Pass is also part of the wider Sheffield-Manchester road connection, although the two routes are not interchangeable. When one is unavailable, options for travelling across the Pennines become more limited, increasing the importance of the remaining connections.

That makes resilience an important issue. A road does not have to be permanently closed to create problems for the wider network. Repeated temporary closures can make journey planning less predictable and place additional pressure on alternative routes.

The same principle applies elsewhere on the road network. When a key route is unavailable, the effects can extend beyond the immediate closure as drivers and freight operators look for alternatives. We have seen similar issues when major incidents or prolonged works disrupt established routes, including an overrun motorway closure that removed the margin from an overnight possession.

For the highways sector, however, the important question is what happens beyond the latest political intervention.

Calls for action do not in themselves provide a funding package, construction programme or confirmed engineering solution. Any substantial improvement to the Pennine routes would require decisions on scope, funding, responsibility and delivery.

That distinction matters because both routes operate in challenging terrain, where maintaining an existing road can already require significant resources. A long-term solution would therefore be a considerably bigger undertaking than simply resurfacing sections of carriageway.

For drivers, the issue is more straightforward. Woodhead Pass and Snake Pass remain important east-west connections, and reliability matters when there are limited alternatives across the Pennines.

The Prime Minister’s latest comments put that issue back into the political spotlight. Whether they lead to a specific programme of work is a separate question, and one that will depend on decisions about funding, responsibility and the future of the routes.