M60 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manchester Outer Ring Road | ||||
Route information | ||||
Part of E20 and E22 | ||||
Maintained by National Highways | ||||
Length | 36.1 mi (58.1 km) 7 miles (11 km) are concurrent with the M62 motorway | |||
Existed | 1998–present | |||
History | ||||
Major junctions | ||||
Orbital around Manchester | ||||
Anti-clockwise end | Stockport | |||
| ||||
Clockwise end | Bredbury & Stockport | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United Kingdom | |||
Counties | Greater Manchester | |||
Primary destinations | Manchester, Stockport, Trafford Park, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham | |||
Road network | ||||
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The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway or Manchester Outer Ring Road is an orbital motorway in North West England. Built over a 40-year period, it passes through all of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton. Most of Manchester is encompassed within the motorway, except for the southernmost part of the city (Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport) which is served by the M56.
The M60 is 36.1 miles (58.1 km) long and was renamed the M60 in 1998, with parts of the M62, M66 and all of the M63 being amalgamated into the new route, and the circle completed in 2000. [1] The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22 from junctions 12 to 18.
In 2008, the M60 was proposed as a cordon for congestion charging in Greater Manchester, although this was rejected in a referendum relating to the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund.
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 1998, followed by the completion of the eastern side (junctions 19–23) opening in October 2000. [2]
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 came close to its projected maximum volume on significant sections.
It is an orbital motorway, and 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. Usually, the western side of the M25 motorway holds that distinction, but the M25's figures at the time were lower than normal due to roadworks starting. [3]
In 2006, [4] the section between junctions 5 and 6 was widened from three to four lanes each way and the section between junctions 6 and 8 was widened from two to three lanes each way with 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 were extensively re-modelled. As part of the project, the A6144(M) motorway, which connected to the M60 at junction 8, was downgraded and lost its motorway status.
The Greater Manchester congestion charge which would have affected drivers only during peak times coming off the M60 towards Manchester was rejected by a referendum on 12 December 2008.
Work to upgrade two sections of the M60 to a managed motorway system had been planned to commence in 2013. This would have included a new lane from junction 12 to 15 and a new lane from junction 8 to 12 near the Trafford Centre. [5] [6] Both these projects were subsequently cancelled in favour of a new project that includes speed cameras on this section but no additional lane or hard-shoulder running. An 'environmental assessment' was cited as the reason an additional lane was not provided. A combined approach was initiated in 2014, comprising managed motorway system and lane gain scheme. Work commenced in July 2014, and the full stretch of smart motorway became fully operational on 31 July 2018. [7]
There are no motorway service areas on the M60. The closest service area is at Birch Services on the M62 heading eastwards.
▲ Clockwise | ||||||||
1960 | 1968 | 1971 | 1974/5 | 1982 | 1989 | 1998 | 2000 | Roads |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
× | × | 22 | A62 | |||||
21 | (A663) | |||||||
20 | A664 | |||||||
○ | 5 | 19 | A576 | |||||
M68 | M66 | M60 | ||||||
○ 18 | 4 18 | 4 18 | 4 18 | 18 | M62M66 | |||
M62 | M60 | |||||||
17 | 17 | A56 | ||||||
15 | 16 | A666 | ||||||
14 | 15 | M61 | ||||||
14A | 14 | A580 | ||||||
6 | 13 | 13 | A575 | |||||
M62 | M60 | |||||||
– | 12 6 | 12 1 | 12 1 | 12 1 | 12 | M62M602 | ||
M62 | M63 | M60 | ||||||
5 | 5 | 2 | 11 | A57 | ||||
4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | B5214 | ||||
3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | A5081 | ||||
2 | 2 | 5 | – | – | B5213 | |||
– | – | – | 6 | 8 | A6144 | |||
1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | A56 | ||||
M62 | M63 | M60 | ||||||
× | 8 | 6 | A6144 | |||||
9 | 5 | A5103 (M56) | ||||||
10 | 4 | M56 | ||||||
3 | A34 | |||||||
11 | 2 | A560 | ||||||
× | 12 | 1 | A5145 | |||||
13 | 27 | A560 | ||||||
× | 14 | 26 | A560 | |||||
M63 | M60 | |||||||
15 12 | 25 | A560 | ||||||
M66 | M60 | |||||||
11 | 24 | A57 (M67) | ||||||
10 | 23 | A635 | ||||||
× | 22 | A62 | ||||||
21 | (A663) | |||||||
20 | A664 | |||||||
1960 | 1968 | 1971 | 1974/5 | 1982 | 1989 | 1998 | 2000 | Roads |
▼ Anti-clockwise |
× | Motorway not open |
– | Motorway open but no junction |
○ | Unnumbered junction |
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 statutory instruments relating to the route of the M60.
The junctions on the M60 are very closely spaced together, with an average distance of 1.3 miles (2.1 km) between junctions. The recommended junction spacing for motorways is every 10 to 12 miles (16 to 19 km).[ citation needed ] By comparison, the M6 motorway has an average distance of 5.3 miles (8.5 km) between junctions.
The entire length of the M60 lies within the ceremonial county of Greater Manchester.
Location | mi | km | Junction | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stockport | 0 | 0 | 1 [coord 1] | A5145 - Stockport | ||
Cheadle | 1.5 | 2.4 | 2 [coord 2] | A560 - Cheadle | No Eastbound entrance or Westbound exit | |
3 [coord 3] | A34 - Cheadle, Wilmslow | No exits going Northbound or entrances from North | ||||
Gatley | 4 [coord 4] | M56 - Chester, Warrington, Manchester Airport | No exit Eastbound or entrance Westbound | |||
Wythenshawe | 4.5 | 7.3 | 5 [coord 5] | A5103 - Central Manchester, Didsbury, Chester, Warrington, Manchester Airport | No exits North or entrances from South going East No exits South or entrances from North going West | |
Sale | 6.0 | 9.7 | 6 [coord 6] | A6144 - Sale | ||
6.8 | 10.9 | 7 [coord 7] | A56 - Central Manchester, Stretford, Altrincham | |||
7.5 | 12.0 | 8 [coord 8] | A6144 - Carrington | |||
Urmston | 9.3 | 15.0 | 9 [coord 9] | A6144 - Trafford Park, Trafford Centre B5158 - Urmston | ||
10.3 | 16.5 | 10 [coord 10] | B5158 - Trafford Park, Urmston | |||
Eccles | 11.4 | 18.4 | 11 [coord 11] | A57 - Eccles, Irlam | ||
12.2 | 19.7 | 12 [coord 12] | M62 - Liverpool, Warrington M602 - Central Manchester, Salford | |||
Worsley | 13.0 | 21.0 | 13 [coord 13] | A572 - Swinton A575 - Worsley, Leigh A580 | ||
14.1 | 22.7 | 14 [coord 14] | A580 - St. Helens, Leigh | Northbound entrance from East and Southbound exit going West only | ||
15 [coord 15] | M61 - Preston, Wigan, Bolton | |||||
Clifton | 16.3 | 26.2 | 16 [coord 16] | A666 - Salford, Kearsley | No entrance Eastbound or exit Westbound | |
Whitefield | 18.5 | 29.7 | 17 [coord 17] | A56 - Central Manchester, Prestwich, Whitefield | ||
19.8 | 31.8 | 18 [coord 18] | M62 - Leeds, Huddersfield M66 - Bury, Burnley, Blackburn | |||
Middleton | 21.0 | 33.8 | 19 [coord 19] | A576 - Central Manchester, Middleton | ||
22.6 | 36.4 | 20 [coord 20] | A664 - Middleton, Blackley | No Westbound exit or Eastbound entrance | ||
Whitegate | 24.7 | 39.8 | 21 [coord 21] | A663 - Central Manchester, Rochdale, Chadderton | ||
Failsworth | 26.3 | 42.3 | 22 [coord 22] | A62 - Central Manchester, Oldham | No entrance North-Eastbound | |
Ashton under Lyne | 28.6 | 46.0 | 23 [coord 23] | A635 - Ashton under Lyne A6140 - Ashton under Lyne | ||
Denton | 30.6 | 49.3 | 24 [coord 24] | M67 - Hyde, Sheffield A57 - Central Manchester, Denton | ||
Stockport | 25 [coord 25] | A560 - Bredbury | no entrances to M60 South-Westbound | |||
26 [coord 26] | A560 - Stockport | No entrances or exits going East No exits to A560 going east or exits from A560 going west | ||||
27 [coord 27] | A560 - Stockport | No South-Westbound exit or North-Eastbound entrance | ||||
36.1 | 58.1 | Motorway continues to junction 1 | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Data from driver location signs is used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. [8]
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over 230 miles (370 km) from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby before heading north-west. It passes Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle before terminating at Junction 45 near Gretna. Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. Its busiest sections are between junctions 4 and 10a in the West Midlands, and junctions 16 to 19 in Cheshire; these sections have now been converted to smart motorways.
The M62 is a 107-mile-long (172 km) west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; 7 miles (11 km) of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22.
The M67 is a 5-mile-long (8 km) urban motorway in Greater Manchester, England, which heads east from the M60 motorway passing through Denton and Hyde before ending near Mottram. The road was originally conceived as the first section of a trans-Pennine motorway between Manchester and Sheffield that would connect the A57(M) motorway with the M1 motorway; however, the motorway became the only part to be built.
The M56 motorway serves the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas of England. It runs east to west from junction 4 of the M60 at Gatley, south of Manchester, to Dunkirk, approximately four miles north of Chester. With a length of 33.3 miles (53.6 km), it connects North Wales and the Wirral peninsula with much of the rest of North West England, serves business and commuter traffic heading towards Manchester, particularly that from the wider Cheshire area, and provides the main road access to Manchester Airport from the national motorway network.
The M65 is a motorway between Preston and Colne in Lancashire, England. It runs from Bamber Bridge just south of Preston, through major junctions with the M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Brierfield, Nelson and ends at Colne.
The M61 is a motorway in North West England between Manchester and Preston, linking the M60 Manchester orbital motorway with the M6 motorway.
The A6144(M) was a motorway in Carrington, Greater Manchester, England. It was known in official documentation as the Carrington Spur Road and built to facilitate the transport of hazardous goods from Shell Chemicals' ethylene oxide plant in Carrington and other industrial estates in Carrington and Broadheath. It was extremely unusual in that it was entirely single carriageway, the only motorway of its kind in the UK as others were dual carriageway for at least some of their length.
The M57 motorway, also known as the Liverpool Outer Ring Road, is a motorway in England. Designed as a ring road for Liverpool, it is 10 miles (16 km) long between Tarbock Green and Switch lsland, and links various towns east of the city, as well as the M62 and M58 motorways.
The M66, also known as the Bury Easterly Bypass, is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56.
The M602 motorway is a 4-mile-long (6 km) motorway, leading traffic into Salford, Greater Manchester, England, towards Manchester city centre and by-passing the town of Eccles.
The M606 is a 3-mile-long (5 km) stretch of motorway in West Yorkshire, England. Called the Bradford Spur motorway, the M606 leaves the M62 motorway at junction 26, near Cleckheaton, and heads into Bradford, to join the A6177 Bradford Ring Road. It is officially named the "Bradford South Radial Motorway" and was opened in 1973.
The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the lightly populated region of rural east Lancashire. The road includes a short section of trunk road between the end of the M66 motorway near Ramsbottom and the M65 motorway west of Burnley.
The M63 motorway was a major road in the United Kingdom. It was completely renumbered, in 1998, to become a substantial part of the M60 motorway which orbits part of Greater Manchester.
The A556 is a road in England which extends from the village of Delamere in Cheshire West and Chester to the Bowdon Interchange in Cheshire East, bordering Greater Manchester. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections and forms a large part of the route between Manchester and Chester. It also acts as a major access route to Chester/North Wales to the west and to Manchester to the east for the conurbation of towns and villages around the Dane Valley centering on Winsford and Northwich. The central part, which forms the Northwich Bypass between Davenham and Lostock Gralam, suffers because of the amount of commuter traffic from this area. The part of the route between the M6 motorway Junction 19 and the M56 motorway Junction 7 is a major route into Manchester and has been recently upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway.
The A5103 is a major road in England. It runs from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre to junction 3 of the M56 motorway and is one of Manchester's principal radial routes.
Simister is a small suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it is located between the districts of Prestwich, Rhodes and Langley. Although the village's proximity to Manchester means the residential population is mainly made up of commuters, the village has a rural feel with much agricultural activity.
A smart motorway, also known in Scotland as an intelligent transport system, is a section of motorway in the United Kingdom that employs active traffic management (ATM) techniques to increase capacity through the use of MIDAS technology including variable speed limits and occasionally hard shoulder running and ramp metering at busy times. They were developed at the turn of the 21st century as a cost-effective alternative to traditional carriageway widening, with intended benefits ranging from more reliable journey times to lower vehicle emissions. However, despite the risk of a collision occurring between two moving vehicles being found to be decreased, there has been an acknowledged rise in the incidence of collisions involving vehicles where at least one was stationary in the first few years following the widespread removal of the hard shoulder on the country's busiest sections of motorway. Smart motorways garnered intense criticism from politicians, police representatives and motoring organisations, particularly from 2020 onwards, after a surge in near miss incidents and dozens of fatalities were revealed, and as of April 2023, no new smart motorways will be built.
Staithgate, also called Staygate, is a community in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The postcode serving Staithgate: BD6. The community is near the M606 motorway.