M6 motorway

. joins the M6 Toll from the M42 and then uses the M6 to its north end at Carlisle, where it continues along the M74.

History and curiosities

The first section of the motorway, and indeed the first motorway in the country, the Preston by-pass, was opened by the then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan on December 5,1958. In subsequent years the motorway was extended piecemeal in both directions and is now 230 miles (370 km) long.

Junction 6 is known as Spaghetti Junction because of its complexity.

On the elevated ground between Shap and Tebay, the north and south-bound carriages split apart. Uniquely, at this point a local road (to Scout Green) runs between the two carriageways without a direct link to the motorway.

The section of the M6 which runs over Shap Fell in Cumbria is 320m above sea level, one of the highest points on any motorway in the UK (junction 22 of the M62 on Saddleworth Moor is higher). The West Coast Main Line railway follows the same course, and in places runs alongside the M6 for much of its length.

The northbound entry slip road at Lancaster North is unusually short, presenting problems for traffic joining the motorway. The M6 crosses the River Lune at this point and unless the bridge had been made wider, there was no space to build a longer slip road.

The route was intended to replace the old A6, but a much closer approximation to the actual route of the M6 is provided by following the route: A45, A34, A50, A49, A6.

M6 Toll

The M6 Toll, Britain's first toll motorway, was partially opened (to local traffic only) on December 9 2003 and fully opened a few days later, and runs around the east and northern sides of Birmingham and Walsall in addition to the current M6, intended to alleviate congestion at the latter's busiest point near to Wolverhampton between the M54 and M5 motorways. This stretch of motorway, at least prior to the opening of the toll, carried 180,000 vehicles per day. It was designed to carry only 72,000 vehicles. The peak-time price for cars to travel its full length has increased to £3.50 (14 June 2005)

An alternative way of by-passing the congested West Midlands area (northbound) is to continue north on the M1 then take the A50 or A52.

Future developments

Widening between J11a and J19

Due to the congested nature of the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester, the UK Government is planning to widen the existing motorway to increase capacity. The proposal is to widen the road from a 3 to a 4 lane dual carriageway between junction 11a and junction 19. The first phase of the widening could be completed by 2014, with the remaining sections following until full completion in 2017.

History of the proposal

In December 2002, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, announced his decision to widen the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester as a result of a study that had recently been completed. However, following on from the opening of the M6 toll road in December 2003, Mr Darling announced on 6 July 2004 a proposal to build a second toll road (dubbed the M6 Expressway) as an alternative to the widening scheme. [1]

The two-lane Expressway was expected to run from Junction 11 (Cannock) to Junction 19 (Knutsford), following a roughly parallel course to the existing M6. It was discussed in the Department for Transport (DfT) document: M6: giving motorists a choice.

On 19 July 2005 the Minister of State for Transport, Dr Stephen Ladyman MP, released a press notice acknowledging there was no clear consensus over which option was best, and stating that he had commissioned more work to further develop the proposals for both options. His intention being that it would be easier to make a choice when the two were more clearly defined.

Responses to the earlier document were also published: Responses to M6: giving motorists a choice

Dr Ladyman released a further press notice on 20 July 2006 to announce the decision to abandon the Expressway proposal and continue with the original widening option. [2]

A556(M)

The A556(M) link road, planned to provide a route to the M56 eastbound towards Manchester for travellers coming from the south on the M6, has been the subject of a public inquiry for many years. The Highways Agency's Route Management Strategy (RMS) for the A556 now promotes gradual upgrading to dual carriageway standard with a 50 mph speed limit, rather than a full upgrade to motorway.

"Cumberland Gap"

In March 2006, after years of political wrangling, the Government finally gave the green light to extend the M6 for 6 miles (the so-called "Cumberland Gap") from its northern terminus at Guard's Mill near Carlisle to the Anglo-Scottish border at Gretna where it will link into the existing A74(M). Costing £174m, (estimated at more than £30m a mile) the new road will be a mixture of new road and online upgrade of the existing A74. The high construction cost is attributable to the route of the road, which has to traverse the West Coast Main Line, and to this end new bridges will need to be constructed. The project has also been subject to a lengthy public enquiry, and the course of the route has been designed to minimise the number of properties that will be destroyed or relocated by the motorway. Once completed however (estimated in 2009), an uninterrupted motorway will then exist between Glasgow and London, and effectively as far south as Exeter.

What remains unclear however, is if the original numbering change to the M74/A74(M) to M6 will now go ahead. Although road signage on its southern stretches was equipped with removeable "A74(M)" plates which reveal "M6" beneath, the Scottish Executive has been reticent over whether the numbering change will actually happen.

Construction began on this section of motorway at the end of July 2006.[3]

Statutory instruments

Each motorway in England requires that a legal document called 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 M6.
* Statutory Instrument 1987 No. 252: County Council of West Midlands (M6 Motorway Junction 10) (Connecting Road) Scheme 1985 Confirmation Instrument 1987 S.I. 1987/252
* Statutory Instrument 1987 No. 2254: M6 Motorway (Catthorpe Interchange) Connecting Roads Scheme 1987 S.I. 1987/2254
* Statutory Instrument 1990 No. 2659: M6 Motorway: Widening between Junctions 20 and 21A (Thelwall Viaduct) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1990 S.I. 1990/2659
* Statutory Instrument 1991 No. 1873: M6 Motorway (Widening and Improvements Between Junctions 30 and 32) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1991 S.I. 1991/1873
* Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 1370: Lancashire County Council (Proposed Connecting Roads to M6 Motorway at Haighton) Special Roads Scheme 1992 Confirmation Instrument 1993 S.I. 1993/1370
* Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1292: M6 Birmingham to Carlisle Motorway (At Haighton) Connecting Roads Scheme 1997 S.I. 1997/1292
* Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1293: M6 Birmingham To Carlisle Motorway (at Haighton) Special Roads Scheme 1997 Transfer Order 1997 S.I. 1997/1293
* Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 125: The M6 Motorway (Saredon and Packington Diversions) Scheme 1998 S.I. 1998/125
* Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1646: The M6 Motorway (Junction 38 Slip Roads) (Speed Limit) Regulations 1999 S.I. 1999/1646

Exit list

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