M62 motorway
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| M62 motorway | |||
| Length | 105 miles 168 km |
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| Direction | West - East | ||
| Start | Liverpool | ||
| Primary destinations | Huyton St Helens Widnes Warrington Manchester Bury Rochdale Huddersfield Halifax Bradford Dewsbury Leeds Wakefield Pontefract Selby Goole |
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| End | North Cave | ||
| Construction dates | 1970 - 1976 | ||
| Motorways joined | 6 -  M57 motorway 10 -  M6 motorway 12 -  M60 motorway 12 -  M602 motorway 18 - M60 motorway 18 -  M66 motorway 20 -  A627(M) motorway 26 -  M606 motorway 27 -  M621 motorway 29 -  M1 motorway 32a -  A1(M) motorway 35 -  M18 motorway |
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The M62 motorway connects the cities of Liverpool and Hull, in England. Along the way, it passes the cities of Salford, Manchester, Warrington, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield, and crosses the Pennine hills.
The motorway is the most important east-west road in northern England. Great efforts are made to keep the road clear of snow in winter months, when other cross-Pennine routes are often shut. The Pennine stretch of motorway is the highest in the UK; there is a marker at the highest point.
The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22.
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[edit] History
The building of the M62 between Rochdale and Huddersfield, crossing the Pennines, is considered to have been one of the most daring road construction projects to have taken place in England due to the nature of the terrain.
On the 4 February 1974, 12 people were killed and many more injured in the M62 coach bombing, when the IRA exploded a 25lb bomb on board an army coach travelling on the road between Chain Bar, near Bradford, and Gildersome, Leeds during the night.
The section of the M62 around Manchester, between junctions 12 and 18, has been renumbered as the M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road road. Another section of the orbital road, the Stretford-Eccles Bypass, formerly a section of the M63, was originally built as a section of the M62. At the M62/M60 interchange, a road leads into Salford, called the M602.
In 2003, work commenced on the A1, upgrading it to motorway status between Doncaster, and Newcastle. The new A1(M) junction opened to traffic on 13 January 2006, intersecting the M62 halfway between J32 (Pontefract) and J33 (Ferrybridge).
In 2007, the UK's first carsharing lane on a motorway is to be built from the M606 allowing passengers with more than one person in the car a fast track onto the M62 Eastbound at Junction 26, near Bradford.[1]
[edit] Stott Hall Farm
At the highest point of the motorway, the road divides into two to negotiate the hilly terrain, and Stott Hall Farm, built in 1737, is situated in between the two halves.[2] The farm is located at . The road forks around the farm for engineering reasons. However, a myth persists that the road had to be split because the owners refused to sell during its construction with some web pages continuing to publish incorrect information.
The previous tenants, Ken and Beth Wild, lived and worked there since 1971.[3] The farm is now occupied by Paul Thorp.[4]
[edit] Musical mentions
The M62 is mentioned in the music track "The Snake" from the 2001 album "Secrets" by The Human League as a possible alternative route between Manchester and Sheffield from the Snake Pass, the main subject of the song. The song lyrics contain the line: "62 or 628 will do if you cannot be late, sometimes the only choice to make in wintertime." "628" in this context refers to the A628, another possible alternative route suggested by the songwriters.
"It's Grim Up North" by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu consisted of a list of towns and cities on the M62 in the "grim North", with the slogan "The North will rise again" appearing in the song's video.
The 2002 album The Last Broadcast by UK recording artists Doves includes a track entitled M62 Song.
The song "Driving Away From Home" by UK recording artists "It's Immaterial" poses the tempting question "Why don't we cross the city limits and head on down the M62".
"Man who lives on the M62 (the)" is a song by the John Shuttleworth character (played by Graham Fellows), in which he likens his DIY disasters to the decision to live in the farm between the two carriageways. "I thought it would be alright, but now I can't sleep at night"
[edit] The M62 corridor
The M62 links most of the professional and semi-professional teams playing rugby league in the Super League and National leagues, for this reason the phrase 'M62 corridor' is sometimes used as a synonym (often in a derogatory sense) for the rugby league heartlands (see Rugby league in England).
This is somewhat inaccurate as some cities on the M62 that have teams are not really considered to be in the heartlands whilst West Cumbria is considered to be part of the heartlands but is not near the M62. The Super League is also the home of Harlequins Rugby League (from London) and Les Catalans (from Perpignan in the south of France.)
[edit] Junctions
| M62 Motorway | ||
| Westbound exits | Junction | Eastbound exits |
| A5080: Huyton, Knotty Ash | J5 | A5080: Huyton |
| A5300: Liverpool A5080:Huyton M57: Southport |
J6 | M57: Prescot A5300: Runcorn |
| A57: Prescot A570: St Helens A557: Widnes |
J7 | A57: Prescot A570: St Helens A557: Widnes |
| A574: Warrington (West), Burtonwood | J8 Burtonwood Services |
A574: Warrington (West), Burtonwood |
| A49: Warrington (Central), Newton | J9 | A49: Warrington (Central), Newton |
| M6: Birmingham, Preston, Chester | J10 | M6: Preston, Birmingham, Manchester Airport |
| A574: Warrington (East), Birchwood | J11 | A574: Warrington (East), Birchwood |
| M60 becomes M62 | J12 | M60: Ring Road, Bolton, Bury, Leeds M602: Salford, Manchester |
| Motorway is M60 from Junctions 12 to 18 | ||
| M60: Ring Road M66: Bury, Blackburn |
J18 | M60 becomes M62 |
| Birch Services | ||
| A6046: Heywood, Middleton | J19 | A6046: Middleton, Heywood |
| A627(M): Rochdale, Oldham | J20 | A627(M): Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton |
| A640: Milnrow, Shaw | J21 | A640: Milnrow, Shaw |
| A672: Saddleworth | J22 | A672: Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge |
| No Access | J23 | A640: Huddersfield |
| A629: Huddersfield, Halifax | J24 | A629: Huddersfield, Halifax |
| A644: Brighouse, Halifax | J25 | A644: Brighouse, Dewsbury |
| Hartshead Services | ||
| M606: Bradford A58: Halifax |
J26 | M606: Bradford A638: Cleckheaton |
| M621: Leeds A62: Bradford |
J27 | M621: Leeds A62: Batley A650: Morley |
| A653: Leeds, Dewsbury, Leeds/Bradford Airport | J28 | A653: Leeds, Dewsbury |
| M1: London, Leeds, Wakefield | J29 | M1: London, Wakefield, The NORTH |
| A642: Rothwell, Wakefield | J30 | A642: Rothwell, Wakefield |
| A655: Normanton, Castleford | J31 | A655: Normanton, Castleford |
| A639: Pontefract, Castleford | J32 | A639: Pontefract, Castleford |
| A1(M): The NORTH, Wetherby | J32a | A1(M): The NORTH, Wetherby The SOUTH, Doncaster |
| A162: The SOUTH, Doncaster (A1) Pontefract, Ferrybridge |
J33 | A162: Knottingley, Ferrybridge |
| A19: Selby, Doncaster | J34 | A19: Selby, Doncaster |
| M18: The SOUTH, Doncaster | J35 | M18: The SOUTH, Doncaster |
| A614: Goole | J36 | A614: Goole |
| A614: Howden | J37 | A614: Howden, Bridlington |
| Start of Motorway | J38 | B1230: North Cave, Gilberdyke |
[edit] External links
- CBRD Motorway Database - M62
- CBRD Video - M62
- The Motorway Archive
[edit] References
- ^ 'First car-share lane to be built', BBC, 20 March 2006
- ^ Photographs of the farm, Sabre
- ^ 'Life in the Fast Lane', BBC, May 24, 2002
- ^ 'Farming in the Fast Lane', BBC North West, February 2, 2007
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Motorways in the United Kingdom | |
| Great Britain: M1 • M2 • M3 • M4 • M5 • M6 • M6 Toll • M8 • M9 • M10 • M11 • M18 • M20 • M23 • M25 • M26 • M27 • M32 • M40 • M42 • M45 • M48 • M49 • M50 • M53 • M54 • M55 • M56 • M57 • M58 • M60 • M61 • M62 • M65 • M66 • M67 • M69 • M73 • M74 • M77 • M80 • M90 • M180 • M181 • M271 • M275 • M602 • M606 • M621 • M876 • M898 | ||
| A1(M) • A3(M) • A38(M) • A48(M) • A57(M) • A58(M) • A64(M) • A66(M) • A74(M) • A167(M) • A194(M) • A308(M) • A329(M) • A404(M) • A601(M) • A627(M) • A823(M) | ||
| Northern Ireland: M1 • M2 • M3 • M5 • M12 • M22 • A8(M) | edit | |
| Past: M41 • M63 • A18(M) • A40(M) • A41(M) • A102(M) • A6144(M) Unbuilt: M12 • M15 • M31 • M64 Future: M4 Toll | ||
