Cars remain submerged in water and stranded on the A555 almost a week after it was first hit by flooding.
Sections of the Manchester Airport Relief Road, which is notorious for flooding, were left under several feet of water after heavy rainfall sparked widespread severe flooding on New Year’s Day and saw a major incident declared by emergency services in the region.
Pictures from the dual carriageway last Wednesday (January 1) showed a number of cars floating in the water with only the top of their roofs visible.
The section of the road near the Wilmslow Road bridge, close to the border of Stockport and Handforth, Cheshire, has been closed ever since.
Despite some sections briefly reopening on Friday, further rain and snow this weekend caused further issues and, at the time of writing, it remains closed between Woodford and the airport.
The scene on the road on New Year’s Day
(Image: Macclesfield)
When the Manchester Evening News visited the stretch near Wilmslow Road, close to Cheadle Hulme but just over the border in Handforth, this afternoon at least four wrecked and abandoned cars were still sitting in the flood waters, which seemingly have not yet subsided enough for them to be safely recovered.
Although the water level had visibly decreased, the vehicles’ tyres were still partly submerged with workers appearing to be in more than ankle-deep water as they waded in to examine them..
A highways worker wades through the flood waters to examine one of the cars
(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
One car had its back windscreen missing, whilst others had visible damage. Parts of the flood water around them appeared to have frozen.
Locals said some of the vehicles had been stuck there since the first flooding last week. One took to social media to describe the situation as ’embarrassing.’ Another said rush hour traffic was currently a ‘nightmare’ with local roads being used as alternatives causing jams.
The cars have been visibly wrecked
(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Cheshire East Council, which oversees the Wilmslow Road section of the road, were unable to confirm how long the vehicles had been there. A spokesperson said they would be reassessing the road closure in the morning.
A spokesperson for Stockport Council said: “The A555 is still closed tonight as we focus on gritting and cleaning the carriageway to make it safe.
The road has also now been left under a blanket of snow with some of the flood water appearing to have frozen over
(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“We are liaising with neighbouring councils and we’ll check conditions early tomorrow morning and make a call on reopening, pending overnight weather conditions. Thanks for bearing with us—safety comes first!”
The A555, which links the A6 near Hazel Grove to the M56 near the airport cost £290 million to build and was completed in 2018. In the six years since it has repeatedly flooded during heavy rainfall.
The vast majority of the dual carriageway remains closed
(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
An investigation into the disastrous floods that hit Stockport in the summer of 2019 found that ‘design shortcomings’ meant the road would ‘remain vulnerable’ – with council bosses admitting they may never fully resolve the issue.
In 2023 there were fresh demands for the councils to find an ‘engineering solution’ to the problem – and bring an end to the chaos that continues to blight residents.