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. Councillor Mark Goldsmith explains more in our video below

Inspections will take place under temporary traffic signals for one day every three months. Monitoring equipment will be installed at the top and bottom of the embankment, with information collected using a survey station. Visits will be planned during off-peak times where possible to reduce disruption.

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.