Macclesfield Road, Rainow - embankment and carriageway collapse

Thank you for bearing with us. The road is now fully open following the completion of this major civil engineering project. 

We understand the disruption this has caused and have worked hard to complete the repairs and reopen the road safely and quickly. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused during these essential works.

Inspections will take place under traffic signals one day every 3 months.

What happened

The embankment supporting the B5470 Macclesfield, midway between Ginclough and Kettleshulme collapsed together with part of carriageway in January 2025.

Before the road collapse, temporary traffic lights were in place for safety reasons to mitigate the risk to the public while we investigated defects found on the embankment. We consider significant rainfall to have been a contributory factor to the sudden subsidence, which was unexpected.

The work started on 27 October 2025, and is now complete.

We carried out the work over winter so we could see the issues on site at their worst. During excavation on both sides of the embankment, we found long‑standing and previously hidden defects that had to be repaired before the road can reopen safely. Snow, storms and persistent wet weather have also slowed progress. Because of these extra issues, more work was needed to make sure the road is safe and stable for the long term. 

Councillor Goldsmith and our project manager for the scheme explain more in the video below.