M60 motorway

For other uses, see M60 (disambiguation).

M60 motorway
The M60 orbits the urban core of Greater Manchester, highlighted in red on the map
Route information
Part of E20 / E22
Maintained by Highways England
Length:	35 mi (56 km) 7 miles (11 km) are part of the M62 motorway
History:	1960-2000 (opened in sections as M62, M63 and M66, renumbered M60 in 2000)
Major junctions
Orbital around Greater Manchester
	J4 → M56 J12 → M62 J12 → M602 J15 → M61 J18 → M62 J18 → M66 J24 → M67
Location
Counties:	Greater Manchester
Major cities:	Manchester, Trafford, Salford, Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway, or Manchester Outer Ring Road, is an orbital motorway in Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. Built over a 40-year period, it passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton. Most of the City of Manchester is encompassed within the motorway, except for the southernmost part of the city (primarily the Wythenshawe area and Manchester Airport), which are served by the M56.

The M60 is 36.1 miles long and was renamed the M60 in 2000, with parts of the M62 and M66 and all of the M63 being amalgamated into the new route. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22.

During 2008, the M60 was proposed as a cordon for congestion charging in Greater Manchester, although this was rejected in a referendum relating to the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund. The M60 is the only true orbital motorway in the United Kingdom, as the M25 motorway in London is not, due to the Dartford Crossing being designated the A282.

History

The M60 at Cutler Hill, Failsworth.

File:Stockport viaduct M60.jpg

The M60 motorway as it passes beneath Stockport viaduct

The M60 was developed by connecting and consolidating the existing motorway sections of the M63, M62, and an extended M66. It came into existence as the M60 in 2000, with the completion of the eastern side (Junctions 19-24) opening in October.

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.

As an orbital motorway, it is equivalent to London's M25 motorway; unlike the M25, the M60 forms a complete loop. 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. Usually, the western side of the M25 motorway holds that distinction, but the M25's figures at the time were lower than normal due to roadworks starting.

In 2006 the section between junctions 5 and 6 was widened from three to four lanes each way and the section between junctions 6 and 8 was widened from two to three lanes each way with 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 were extensively re-modelled. As part of the project, the A6144(M) motorway, which connected to the M60 at junction 8, was downgraded and lost its motorway status.

The Greater Manchester congestion charge which would have affected drivers only during peak times coming off the M60 towards Manchester was rejected by a referendum on 12 December 2008.

Work to upgrade two sections of the M60 to a managed motorway system had been planned to commence in 2013. This would have included a new lane from junction 12 to 15 and a new lane from junction 8 to 12 near the Trafford Centre. Both these projects were subsequently cancelled in favour of a new project that includes speed cameras on this section but no additional lane or hard-shoulder running. An 'environmental assessment' was cited as the reason an additional lane will not be provided. Consequently daily congestion on this section is expected to continue indefinitely.

M60 genealogy

M60 motorway genealogy
Section	Original number
J1 – J7	M63
J7 – J12	Opened as M62, later became M63
J12 – J18	M62
J18 – J19	M66
J19 – J23	Planned as M66, opened as M60
J23 – J25	M66
J25 – J1	M63

Legislation

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 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

Junctions

The junctions on the M60 are very closely spaced together, with an average distance of 1.3 miles between junctions. The recommended junction spacing for motorways is 1 every 10–20 miles. By comparison, the M6 motorway has an average distance of 5.3 miles between junctions.

Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.

M60 motorway
mile	km	Anti-clockwise exits - "B" Carriageway	Junction	Clockwise exits - "A" Carriageway
0.0	0.0	Stockport A5145	J1	Stockport A5145
1.5	2.4	Cheadle A560	J2	No access
		Cheadle, Wilmslow A34	J3	Cheadle, Wilmslow A34
		Cheadle, Wilmslow A34	J4	Chester, Warrington, Manchester Airport M56, Birmingham (M6)
4.5	7.3	Wythenshawe A5103 Manchester, Knutsford (A556), Chester (M56)	J5	Manchester, Didsbury A5103
6.0	9.7	Sale A6144	J6	Sale A6144
6.8	10.9	Altrincham A56	J7	Altrincham, Stretford A56
7.5	12.0	Carrington A6144	J8	Carrington A6144
9.3	15.0	Trafford Park, Trafford Centre A5081	J9	Trafford Park, Trafford Centre, Urmston A5081
10.3	16.5	Trafford Park B5214	J10	Trafford Park B5214
11.4	18.4	Irlam, Eccles A57	J11	Irlam, Eccles A57
12.2	19.7	Warrington, Liverpool M62 Salford M602	J12	Warrington, Liverpool M62 Salford M602
13.0	21.0	Swinton A572 Worsley, Leigh A575	J13	Swinton A572
14.1	22.7	St. Helens, Leigh A580	J14	No access
		Bolton, Wigan, Preston M61	J15	Bolton, Wigan, Preston M61
16.3	26.2	Salford, Clifton, Pendlebury, Kearsley A666	J16	No access
18.5	29.7	Whitefield, Manchester, Prestwich A56	J17	Prestwich, Whitefield A56
19.8	31.8	Leeds, Bolton, Preston, Liverpool M62 Bury, Burnley M66	J18	Leeds M62
21.0	33.8	Middleton, Manchester A576	J19	Middleton, Manchester A576
22.6	36.4	No access	J20	Blackley, Moston A664
24.7	39.8	Oldham, Failsworth A663	J21	Oldham, Failsworth A663
26.3	42.3	Manchester City Centre, Chadderton A663	J22	Oldham, Failsworth A62
28.6	46.0	Ashton-under-Lyne A635	J23	Ashton-under-Lyne A635
30.6	49.3	Manchester A57 Sheffield M67	J24	Manchester A57 Sheffield M67 Denton Island
		Bredbury A560	J25	Bredbury A560
		No access	J26	Stockport A560
		Stockport East (multiple roads)	J27	No access
36.1	58.1	Road continues to J1

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom.

External links

• CBRD Motorway Database - M60
• Highways Agency - M60 Jct 5 to 8 (formerly M63 Jct 6 to 9) widening
• Guide to the M60 Smart Motorway Construction

Further reading

Hyde, M., O'Rourke, A. and Portland, P. Around the M60: Manchester's Orbital Motorway. Altrincham: AMCD Publishers, 2004.