M56 motorway
{{UK motorway routebox| motorway= M56
length-mi= 35 | length-km= 56 | direction= East - West | start= Gatley | destinations= Manchester International Airport
Wythenshawe
Warrington
Chester | end= Mollington | opening-date= 1971 | completion-date= 1981 | junctions= 1 - M60 motorway
9 - M6 motorway
15 - M53 motorway
The M56 motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is a major road in England. It runs south of the River Mersey, paralleling the A56 road, and M62 motorway north of the river. The motorway is often busy with long-distance commuters and airport traffic.
The M56 runs west from its junction with the M60 motorway just south of Manchester, then passes Manchester International Airport, Altrincham, M6 motorway, Warrington, Runcorn and Ellesmere Port, before finishing just north of Chester. From here a dual carriageway A5117 (A550) continues to Queensferry and North Wales. To reduce congestion, traffic for North Wales can take the roughly equivalent (but longer) route M53/A55.DATES OF OPENINGOpen Jct Section
1971 J11-14 Preston Brook - Hapsford
1972 J3-7 Wythenshawe - Bowdon
1974 J7-9 Bowdon - Lymm
1975 J1-3 Sharston Bypass
1975 J9-11 Lymm - Preston Brook
1981 J14-16 Hapsford - A5177FACTSStart Cheadle (M60)
Finish Chester (A5117)
Passes Manchester, Warrington, Runcorn and Ellesmere Port
Length 34 miles
Meets M6, M53{| border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; color: black; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"|- align="center" bgcolor="0080d0" style="color: white;font-size:120%;" | M56 Motorway|- align="center" bgcolor="000000" style="color: white" | Eastbound exits | Junction | - align='center' | Stockport M60 | Terminus | Start of motorway (Sharston Spur)>- align='center' | Didsbury A34 | 1 | No exit>- align='center' | No exit | 2 | Wythenshawe, Altrincham, A560 (M60)>- align='center' | Altrincham, Wythenshawe & H, Cheadle A560 | 3a | Start of motorway (Princess Parkway spur)>- align='center' | Manchester, Ring Road (M60) A5103 | 3 | No exit>- align='center' | No exit | 4 | Wythenshawe>- align='center' | Manchester Airport | 5 | Manchester Airport>- align='center' | Hale, Wilmslow, Macclesfield A538 | 6 | Wilmslow, Hale, Macclesfield A538>- align='center' | Altrincham A56 | 7 | Birmingham (M6), Northwich A556, Lymm A56>- align='center' | No exit | 8 | No exit>- align='center' | Preston, Birmingham, Leeds (M62) M6 | 9 | Preston, Liverpool (M62) M6>- align='center' | Lymm, Poplar 2000 Services A50 | Warrington, Lymm, Poplar 2000 Services, A50>- align='center' | Warrington, Northwich A49 | 10 | Northwich, Warrington A49>- align='center' | Runcorn (E), Warrington A56 | 11 | Preston Brook, Daresbury A56>- align='center' | Runcorn, Widnes, Northwich A557 | 12 | Frodsham, Runcorn, Widnes A557>- align='center' | Stanlow, Helsby, Chester Services A5117 | 14 | Stanlow, Helsby, Chester Services A5117>- align='center' | No exit | 15 | Ellesmere Port, Birkenhead M53>- align='center' | No exit | Chester, Wrexham M53>- align='center' | Start of Motorway | Terminus | North Wales, Queensferry A5117 | 
