M60 motorway
{{UK motorway routebox| motorway= M60
length-mi= 35 | length-km= 56 | direction= Circular | start= Motorway is a complete circle, however junction numbers begin and end at Stockport | destinations= (Manchester)
Stockport
Manchester Airport
Trafford Park
Oldham
Ashton-under-Lyne | end= Motorway is a complete circle, however junction numbers begin and end at Stockport) | opening-date= 1960 | completion-date=2000 (opened in sections as M62, M63 and M66, renumbered M60 in 2000) | junctions= 4 - M56 motorway
12 - M62 motorway
12 - M602 motorway
15 - M61 motorway
18 - M62 motorway
18 - M66 motorway
24 - M67 motorwayThe M60 motorway is an orbital motorway which completely encircles Manchester, England. It was created in 1999, with the eastern side (Junctions 19-24) opening in October 2000.
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. There is talk of some sections becoming toll sections, and there is still talk of building a new oribital motorway as proposed by the original plan.
The M60 was developed by connecting and consolidating the existing motorway sections of the M63, M62, and an extended M66.
As an orbital motorway, it is equivalent to London's M25 motorway, however, unlike its London counterpart, the M60 is a complete circle (in London the stretch over the Thames at Dartford is not a motorway, but the A282).
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 commencement of roadworks [1] | 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. 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.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 Outer 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{| 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%;" | M60 Motorway|- align="center" bgcolor="000000" style="color: white" | Anticlockwise exits | Junction | Clockwise exits | | A5145: Stockport | J1 | A5145: Stockport |
| A560: Cheadle | J2 | No Access |
| A34: Cheadle, Wilmslow | J3 | A34:Wilmslow, Cheadle |
| 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 | J9 | A5081: Trafford Park, 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 |
A572: Swinton
A575: Worsley, Leigh | J13 | A572: Swinton |
| A580: St. Helens, Leigh | J14 | No 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 |
| 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 |
A57: Manchester
M67: Sheffield | J24 | A57: Manchester
M67: Sheffield |
| A560: Bredbury | J25 | A560: Bredbury |
| No Access | J26 | A560: Stockport |
| Stockport East (Multiple Roads) | J27 | No Access |
| Continue to Junction 1 |
