M60 motorway

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M60motorway
Maintained by Highways Agency
Length: 35 mi (56 km)
7 miles are part of the M62 motorway
Formed: 1960-2000 (opened in sections as M62, M63 and M66, renumbered M60 in 2000)
Circular; Clockwise end: Stockport
Major
junctions:
4 -
M56 motorway
12 -
M62 motorway
12 -
M602 motorway
15 -
M61 motorway
18 -
M62 motorway
18 -
M66 motorway
24 -
M67 motorway
East end: Stockport
Counties: Greater Manchester
Major cities: Manchester
Trafford
Salford
Bury
Rochdale
Oldham
Tameside
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The M60 motorway is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton. Most of the City of Manchester is encompassed within the motorway, except for the southern-most part of the city (primarily the Wythenshawe area and the Airport). The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22, and is a proposed boundary road for the Manchester Congestion Charge.

Contents

[edit] History

The M60 was developed by connecting and consolidating the existing motorway sections of the M63, M62, and an extended M66. It came into existence as the M60 in 2000, with the completion of the eastern side (Junctions 19-24) opening in October of that year.

The original plan called for a completely new motorway, but policy change led to the plan which created the current motorway. As soon as it opened, the motorway got close to its projected maximum volume on significant sections.

The M60 at Cutler Hill, Failsworth.
The M60 at Cutler Hill, Failsworth.

As an orbital motorway, it is equivalent to London's M25 motorway, however, unlike the M25, the M60 is a complete circle. In 2004, a section of the northern M60 was the UK's busiest stretch of road, with an average of 181,000 vehicles per day using the stretch between junctions 16 and 17, although usually, the western side of the M25 motorway holds that honour. The M25's figures were lower than normal due to roadworks starting. [1]

[edit] Widening between junctions 5 and 8

The M60 motorway as it passes beneath Stockport viaduct
The M60 motorway as it passes beneath Stockport viaduct

Between junctions 5 and 8 (formerly M63 between junctions 6 to 9), the motorway has recently been widened in a major engineering project spanning several years.[1] Between junctions 5 and 6, the motorway has been widened from three to four lanes in each direction. Between junctions 6 and 8, the motorway had been widened from two to three lanes in each direction, plus an additional two-lane collector/distributor road on either side of the main carriageways. Access for junctions 6 to 8 is only from the collector/distributor road. Some of the junctions have been extensively remodelled. As part of the project, the A6144(M) motorway, which connected to the M60 at junction 8, was downgraded and lost its motorway status.

[edit] Current developments


[edit] Proposed developments

There is talk of some sections becoming toll sections, and there is still talk of building a new orbital motorway as proposed by the original plan[citation needed].


[edit] Legislation

Each motorway in England requires that a Statutory Instrument be published, detailing the route of the road, before it can be built. The dates given on these Statutory Instruments relate to when the document was published, and not when the road was built. Provided below is an incomplete list of the Statutory Instruments relating to the route of the M60.

  • Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 1708: M66 Motorway (Manchester Ring Road, Denton to Middleton Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1988 S.I. 1988/1708
  • Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 1728: M66 Motorway (Middleton to the Lancashire/Yorkshire Motorway (M62) Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1988 S.I. 1988/1728
  • Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 363: M66 Motorway (Manchester Outer Ring Road, Denton to Middleton Section) A663 Broadway All-Purpose Connecting Road Order 1993 S.I. 1993/363
  • Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 364: M66 Motorway (Manchester Outer Ring Road, Denton to Middleton Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1988 Amendment Scheme 1993 S.I. 1993/364
  • Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2724: The M60 Motorway (Improvement Between Junctions 5 and 8) Connecting Roads Scheme 1999 S.I. 1999/2724
  • Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 2403: The M60 Motorway (Junction 25) (Speed Limit) Regulations 2002 S.I. 2002/2403

[edit] List of Junctions

M60 Motorway
Anticlockwise exits Junction Clockwise exits
Original M63 route
A5145: Stockport J1 A5145: Stockport
A560: Cheadle J2 No access
A34: Cheadle, Wilmslow J3 A34: Cheadle, Wilmslow
J4 M56: Chester, Warrington, Manchester
A5103: Wythenshawe
(M56: Manchester, Chester)
J5 A5103: Manchester, Didsbury
A6144: Sale J6 A6144: Sale
A56: Altrincham J7 A56: Altrincham, Stretford
A6144: Carrington J8 A6144: Carrington
A5081: Trafford Park, Trafford Centre J9 A5081: Trafford Park, Trafford Centre, Urmston
B5214: Trafford Park J10 B5214: Trafford Park
A57: Irlam, Eccles J11 A57: Eccles, Irlam
M62: Warrington, Liverpool
M602: Salford
J12 M62: Warrington, Liverpool
M602: Salford
Original M62 route
A572: Swinton
A575: Worsley, Leigh
J13 A572: Swinton
A580: St. Helens, Leigh J14 access
M61: Bolton, Wigan, Preston J15 M61: Bolton, Wigan, Preston
A666: Salford, Pendlebury, Kearsley J16 No access
A56: Whitefield, Manchester, Prestwich J17 A56: Prestwich, Whitefield
M62: Leeds, Bolton, Preston, Liverpool
M66: Bury, Burnley
J18 M62: Leeds
M60: Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester
M62: Leeds
Route opened in 2000
A576: Middleton, Manchester J19 A576: Middleton, Manchester
No access J20 A664: Blackley, Moston
A663: Oldham, Failsworth J21 A663: Failsworth, Oldham
A62: Oldham, Failsworth J22 A62: Oldham, Failsworth
A635: Ashton-under-Lyne J23 A635: Ashton-under-Lyne
Original M66 route
A57: Manchester
M67: Sheffield
J24 A57: Manchester
M67: Sheffield
A560: Bredbury J25 A560: Bredbury
Original M63 route
No access J26 A560: Stockport
Stockport East (Multiple Roads) J27 No access
Continue to Junction 1

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Speech by Minister of State for Transport, Dr Stephen Ladyman, delivered at the opening ceremony of the widened M60 junction 5-8. Department For Transport (2006-06-26). Retrieved on 2008-01-28.

[edit] External links

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