LMARS - M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road

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M60
Manchester Outer Ring Road

Taking an absolutely staggering 40 years to completely open, the M60 is the result of some tinkering with the numbers of the motorway box around the City of Manchester. Created in 1998, the M60 replaced the M63, and more than half of the M66. It also took over a substantial section of the M62 through the Irwell Valley.

The very first section of what was to become the M60 was opened in 1960, as the M62 Stretford-Eccles Bypass. Its construction predated even the Preston Bypass - the embankments for the Barton High Level Bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal were laid in place in 1956. This section of motorway was dual two lane and had to be widened at considerable expense in the late 1980s. The final section of the MORR was the J19-24 section opened in 2000.

The M60 must rank as one of the most varied motorways per mile - in a mere 30 miles it has dual two, three, and four lane sections, a collector/distributor road section (opened in 2006), a roundabout interchange forming part of the mainline, a section passing under a Victorian brick railway viaduct, a high level bridge over a canal, narrow lanes, some of the most complex interchanges in Britain, and 27 junctions.

The section through the 'Bredbury bend', where the M66 used to arbitarily become the M63 (mainly as the proposed southern extension never materialised - it is still subject to intense debate even today), is now subject to a 50mph speed limit clockwise with SPECS averaging cameras used to enforce the limit.

The M60 also has seen numerous improvements -the Stretford-Eccles Bypass was widened in the late 1980s, the Irwell Valley section was widened in the early 1990s, and the Stockport East-West Bypass was widened in 1999 in anticipation of the final link opening a year later.

Further Reading
M60 (CBRD)

The M60, seen travelling Clockwise from J18 (Simister Island):

	South of J18, the M60 is dual four lane - originally dual two lane with a very wide central reservation. The fourth lane leaves onto the A576 at Rhodes Roundabout.
	Looking towards Rhodes Roundabout, which was improved in 1995 well in advance of the southern extension to the motorway.
	The youngest section of the M60 does unfortunately have some draingage issues as well as some questionable interchange designs. However, it does also sport generous sightlines which is unlike the majority of this relatively urban motorway.
	The Manchester Outer Ring Road is fiercely branded - as also happened with the early efforts to brand the M25 as 'London Orbital'. The ring is also divided into four sections - J20-26 is Ring Road East, 27-5 is Ring Road South, 6-13 is Ring Road West, and 14-19 is Ring Road North.
	The drop to dual two lane through the A663 interchange is one of the questionable design features of this section of the M60. Given the older dual two lane sections have recently been eliminated, why was this one installed?
	There are numerous junctions in quick succession here.
	The footbridges along this section are 'caged', to prevent debris being thrown onto the motorway from the bridge by vandals.
	There are brief dual four lane sections between interchanges here.
	At J24, the motorway meets the M67, a shadow of what was intended. The M67 predated any of the eastern sections of the M60.
	More route confirmation with branding after J24, this section of the MORR opened in 1989.
	There 50mph speed limit for the Bredbury Bend commences some distance back from the actual hazard, which caused the limit to be ignored. Now there are speed averaging cameras enforcing the restriction.
	The space for the southern continuation (sometimes labelled as A6(M)) is visible on the right. Armco barriers were recently installed, thus hiding the view somewhat.
	Travelling through the bend, which is sharp but not unbearable, onto the original M63 and the Stockport East-West Bypass.
	Approaching the infamous J26, the 'Bredbury Scissors'. These have been discussed at great length on CBRD's 'Bad Junctions'.
	National Speed Limit resumes after the Bredbury Bend.
	The M60 twists towards Stockport, with the A560 Crookilley Way running parralel.
	The M60 becomes Ring Road South here, and is thus signed.
	The Stockport Viaduct is visible in the distance, behind the gantry.
	At J1 the Stockport Pyramid is visible - it's the blue building underneath the gantry.
	West of J1 the motorway has recently been resurfaced and given concrete central barriers, eliminating the original 1980s surfacing.
	After J2, there is a short dual four lane weaving section before the complex Kingsway Interchange with the A34 and M56.
	Passing under the Kingsway Interchange, which also has a railway threaded through it.
	At J5, the M60 has been widened to provide more capacity. This was completed in 2006, and removed a lane drop from this junction.
	There is another dual four lane section between J5 and 6, before the start of the collector/distributor lanes.
	Unfortunately, the signing here leaves a little to be desired.
	There are a total of 12 lanes here, which doubled the capacity of the motorway. There are also some signature span footbridges.
	More poor signing here, at J7.
	Passing under what was originally the junction with the notorious A6144(M), which was downgraded in May 2006, signs for Trafford Park appear. J8 was improved to become a conventional roundabout.
	Back on the 'second generation' Stretford-Eccles Bypass here, approaching Trafford Park.
	This junction is the main access to the popular Trafford Centre. However, as a result it is regularly congested and a junction to avoid.
	Climbing onto the Barton High Level Bridge, one of its major weaknesses is shown on the variable sign - it has very heavy crosswinds on a regular basis.
	Another very short weaving section occurs after the A57 junction - congestion is regular here.
	This section brings more traffic - from the M62. There is little margin for error as the bridges here were designed for only dual two lane carriageways but now have dual three lanes.
	Traffic from the M62 has barely joined before traffic for J13 is shuffling over to the left. This is another recipe for chaos and indeed there is regular congestion here too!
	Four narrow lanes continue towards the M61 - anti-clockwise is only wide enough for three lanes.
	Approaching the famous Worsley Braided Interchange, which opens out a mile after this sign.
	Worsley Braided Interchange is not entirely visible from the M60, however. It is best seen from the M61 and A580.
	Some gracefully curving viaducts for M61 traffic here.
	Now on Ring Road North, just west of the A666 junction at Kearsley. The never constructed M601 would've left the motorway just east of this junction. The original M62 junction numbering left a number free for it.
	The climb out of the Irwell Valley starts here - this was the busiest section of motorway in the UK in 2005.
	The A56 junction is cramped in an urban area, which these trees manage to shield rather well. Had the M62 relief road been constructed a lot of this would've been swept away for a motorway alongside the existing one.
	There are several bridges here - the top one carries the Metrolink through Beses o'th'Barn.
	All M60 traffic is forced to exit the motorway here onto the notorious Simister Island.
	Congestion at Simister can be horrendous - and at other times it can be deserted. Left turns are the easiest choice, but these are funnelled through a narrow single lane slip road. The mainline M60 has to navigate the signalised section of the roundabout.
	The lanes through Simister have been colour coded to aid drivers who may not be expecting such an arrangement on a busy motorway. The signs do not really help navigation here.
	More signs placed on the overbridge. Notice the colour coded lanes again.
	Another view of a gantry at Simister showing colour coded lanes and poor signs.
	One more view of the roundabout.
	Exits from the roundabout recieve colour coded arrows to enforce the message. However, the colour codes are not explained and are a cause of confusion. In general, Simister is a very poor junction for the purpose it serves.

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LMARS is dedicated to the memory of my friend's sister, Amy, who was killed in a road accident. We shall not forget.
All material on LMARS is property of Bryn Buck, unless otherwise stated. I will permit usage of my photographs on any website, provided some form of credit is given, and/or a link to LMARS. You needn't ask for permission if you do as I request. Many thanks!