Snake Pass, the legendary A57 running over the Pennines, and a bikers’ perennial favourite, is to get safety upgrades worth £7.6 million, with some of the improvements aimed at motorcyclists. We reported on this story back in October 2024, link here, when Derbyshire County Council announced that the iconic stretch of twisty tarmac might have to face closure. Several landslips had undermined the road’s structure, and the Council said it just didn’t have the cash to repair it.

Now the Department for Transport has come up with the money, part of a near-£10 million package which focuses in two roads in northern England – the A583 Blackpool Road as well as Snake Pass. Part of the funding is going to new cycle paths and pedestrian pavements, but Snake Pass is also getting a new motorcycle safety barrier. This feature alone is projected to prevent around 100 serious injuries or fatalities over 20 years. Cash is also going into improved visibility and stabilisation of the road.

At the BMF, chair Jim Freeman welcomed the news that Snake Pass would remain open in the long-term: “It’s not always that one can unreservedly welcome a DfT announcement, but this is one of them. I haven’t seen those barriers, but they sound terrific, are they some of the FEMA approved standard? ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Stephen Bowler