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Joining the A666(M) from the M60, there is a sweeping bend over the first section of the famous Worsley Braided Interchange.
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A
view towards the 'tunnels' at Worsley Braided Interchange. These were
designed to carry the highly skewed A580 link roads over the mainline.
This was the first section of dual four lane motorway to open in the
United Kingdom.
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The
A666(M) is an unsigned motorway, but it was originally shown on maps
and atlases. Lancashire County Council's records clearly label it even
today as the A666(M) Kearsley Spur.
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The end of the motorway is at the junction with the A666 and A6053.
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There
is no access from the southbound M61 to the northbound St Peter's Way
without traversing the roundabout junction. This is to prevent
excessive weaving.
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The 1999 speed limit reduction begins at the diverge of the sliproads to the A6053.
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The motorway ends, and the speed limit is repeated along with the start of Clearway restriction.
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Compared
with the motorway to the south, this section of the road feels very
claustrophobic. It is worth noting this part of the route predated the
motorway by several years.
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One of the numerous speed cameras enforcing the speed limit along this road.
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The
A666 does not have hard shoulders, but the oldest section does have
emergency lay-bys which are not encountered on the younger section to
the north.
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There are regular warnings of closures for maintainence work along the route.
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Another
speed camera at the site of the terminus of the original road. This
interchange is very non standard in design with no exit northbound.
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Oddly,
the younger section of the road is lit with concrete street light
columns. There is a large retaining wall northbound to the left.
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Passing
the Raikes Lane Interchange, which originally offered access to Bolton
Wanderers' Burnden Park stadium (which moved to the Reebok in 1997).
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A third speed camera awaits at the merge with Raikes Lane.
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Access for the southern area of Bolton town centre is available here, as well as access for Bolton University.
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This picture shows the typical construction styles in use during the 1960s.
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This
elegant railway bridge carries the Manchester to Blackburn Railway. A
short dual three lane section now continues to the next junction.
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The third lane leaves onto Saint George's Road and the northern areas of Bolton town centre.
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A second gantry gives more local information. |
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The
section north of Saint George's Road opened in the early 1990s and
provided a new one way system to ease traffic onto Blackburn Road and
Halliwell Road. |
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These
signals mark the end of the grade seperated section of the A666. To the
left is the A673 Topp Way (part of the town centre relief road system).
The road continues north as a dual carriageway for about 500 yards
before becoming a very wide single carriageway. It is roughly 12 miles
to the centre of Blackburn from here. |
