HGVs will be able to use a contraflow around the A57 (M) Mancunian Way from today, Manchester City Council have announced.
Until now heavier vehicles have been banned from using a 20mph single-carriageway section between London Road and Fairfield Street because it was too narrow for them to pass through safely.
It’s caused major traffic build-up in the city centre.
But now widening works have been completed, Manchester City Council say.
Torrential rainstorms in summer last year forced officials to close the road.
Part of the eastbound carriageway collapsed in August 2015, then again in November 2015, leaving a giant 40ft sinkhole in the middle of the road.
A culvert running directly underneath the road was overloaded when 20mm of rain fall in under three hours and the tarmac fell in on itself to reveal the deep hole.
The news made national headlines.
Watch: Drone takes you inside Manchester Mancunian Way sinkhole
Traffic increased exponentially on local roads in the aftermath of the closure, including Trinity Way in Salford, as drivers avoided Mancunian Way.
The estimated total cost of the repairs could hit £3.2 million.
Councillor Kate Chappell, Executive Member for Environment for Manchester City Council, said: “We are continuing to work closely with United Utilities so that the Mancunian Way can be reopened as quickly as possible.
“But this is the last in the series of measures to ensure that we do all we can to promote smooth traffic flow while the contraflow remains in place.
“Enabling HGVs to use the Mancunian Way again will mean they can use the ring road again rather than having to travel through the city centre, helping to reduce congestion, and is a welcome development.”
