It runs from the A580 near Wardley and heads northwest past Bolton, Horwich and Chorley to join the M6 near Bamber Bridge, just north of the junction between the M6 and M65. It runs parallel to the A6, to its northeast, for the entirety of its length, essentially bypassing the towns and villages the A6 runs through between Manchester and Preston.
The Horwich to Worsley section began on Wednesday 1 January 1969, costing £12.4million, to open by the end of December 1970, built by the Alfred McAlpine and Leonard Fairclough & Son consortium.[1]
The M61 has one service station: Rivington services (formerly Anderton Services and Bolton West services), located between junctions 6 and 8 (as junction 7 was never built). This motorway service area was used in the filming of The Services, a pilot episode for the Farnworth-born comedian Peter Kay series That Peter Kay Thing, a spoof documentary of a day in the life of the services staff.
Originally built as part of the Kenning Motor Group, it later became part of the Rank Group portfolio, before passing on to Pavilion (Granada) and First Motorway Services. This services originally had two restaurants (one each side) and full facilities. However, due to the relatively short length of the M61 and wealth of alternative nearby facilities, it suffered from low traffic and footfall. This resulted in a lack of investment, and the site passed from hand to hand. It was also, at various times, operated on one side only, access from the opposite carriageway being via the over-bridge, or closed down completely. In 2009, it was acquired by the Blackburn based Euro Garages Group. Instead of simply refurbishing the existing infrastructure, a completely new facility was built on each of the old car-parks. All the original buildings were then demolished.
At various periods, since the building of the M61, the lack of a junction 7 has been used by local politicians as a campaign feature. This has once again come to the fore in 2022, as a proposal to relieve major congestion between junction 6 and Horwich. The two proposals are; to either build junction 7 where the M61 passes over the Bolton to Chorley road at Anderton, or to incorporate junction 7 into the Rivington Services site. Short term, neither are likely to happen.[citation needed]
Worsley Braided InterchangeEdit
The complex of inter-connected junctions 2 Junction number 1 Former junction number
A666 and A6053
M61 slips to Kearsley Interchange
M61 to Preston
A666(M) Kearsley Spur
A666(M) to M60
M61 to A580 east
M60 outer ring road
M60 slip roads to A580 west
A580 East Lancs Road
At the southeastern end at junction 2, the Worsley Braided Interchange, a stretch of the road on Linnyshaw Moss, earns a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most traffic lanes side by side (17), spread across eight almost-parallel carriageways, in a "basketweave interchange" design. However it isn't clear how many of the lanes belong to the A666(M).[2][3][4][5] The carriageways cross each other at shallow angles and make use of tunnel-like structures to spread the load, avoiding the need for skew bridges.
Spurs of the M61 radiate from junction 2 to four surrounding junctions, effectively creating one large interchange, consisting of the following junctions:[6]
The Kearsley Interchange links the A666 and A6053 to M61 junctions 2 and 3.[a]
M61 junction 3 links the M61 southeastbound to the Kearsley Interchange.
M61 junction 2 (Worsley Braided Interchange) links to all of the other junctions.
M60 junction 15 (Swinton Interchange[7]) links the M60 to M61 junction 2 by using a short stretch of the A666(M).[b]
M60 junction 14 (Wardley Interchange) links the A580 East (East Lancashire Road) to M61 junction 2, and separately links the A580 West to the M60 East at junction 15.[c]
The name "Worsley Braided Interchange" may also be used to describe the entire complex of five junctions. On its opening on 17 December 1970, the complex was already known locally as "Spaghetti Junction",[8][9] 17 months before the opening of Gravelly Hill Interchange in Birmingham, nowadays most associated with that name in Britain, but the name did not persist.
Lancaster CanalEdit
The construction of the motorway between junctions 8 and 9 caused part of Lancaster Canal to be closed. Before closure, the canal had a southern section that had always been isolated from the main northern section, but historically linked to it by a horse-drawn tramway, the Lancaster Canal Tramroad. The new motorway crossed the route of the canal at three points. The Ministry of Transport and British Waterways Board decided that the cost of constructing three bridges was not justified, particularly as the canal was in poor condition, and promoted a bill in Parliament for closure of this section of the canal.[10] The southernmost part of this section remains and is now classified as a spur of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Access only to A580 eastbound and from A580 westbound. Spur goes directly to Junction 2; no access to or from Swinton Interchange (M60). (Formerly M62 Junction 14A.)
Entrance to a tunnel-like structure that carries the M60-to-M61 spur under one carriageway of the M61-to-A580 spur, approaching Junction 2 from the southeastPart of the Swinton Interchange, showing carriageways of the M61-to-M60 spur crossing the M60 (left) and the A580-to-M60 link road (centre)
Mileages are calculated using the A580 spur, the longer of the two spurs at the Manchester end.
^Confusingly, the A666 southbound approach to this junction has signs identifying it as "junction 2", which appears to incompatible with the other M61 junction numbers. Other approaches display no number. The "Kearsley Spur" from this junction to M61 junction 2 is the A666(M).
^M60 junction 15 was once also known as M61 junction 1, and as of 2022 some Ordnance Survey maps still display this, but all road signs depicting "1" have been removed as the actual junction 1 is on the A580. Some sources name the junction to be part of Worsley Braided Interchange. Before the M60 was created, it was M62 junction 14.
^"Junction 14" refers only to the M60 link road. The M61 mainline has no junction number, although some sources have claimed it was junction 1. Before the M60 was created, it was M62 junction 14A.
ReferencesEdit
^Leicester Daily Mercury Tuesday 31 December 1968, page 12
^British Roads Database www.cbrd.co.uk URL accessed 18 February 2008
^"The number's up for Britain's roads". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. October 2002. Retrieved 18 February 2008. The west side of Manchester is notoriously busy and holds the record for the widest section of motorway – an impressive 17 lanes where the A666(M) (for the M61) and M60 meet.
^Matthews, Peter, ed. (1992). The Guinness Book of Records 1993. Enfield: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 121. ISBN0-85112-978-1.
^Google (26 September 2022). "Worsley Braided Interchange" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
^"Landranger map" (Map). Map of M61 Junction 2. Ordnance Survey. n.d. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
^ abBlakey, Ashlie (15 September 2021). "LIVE: Queues on M60 near Trafford Park after accident - latest updates". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^Chartres, John (18 December 1970). "'Spaghetti Junction' opens, without warning signs". The Times. London. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
^Johnson, W.M. (2000), "A627(M) Rochdale–Oldham Motorway" 29 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Lancashire County Council website, accessed 28 June 2011
^Yeadon, H.L. (2005). The Motorway Achievement: Building the Network: The North West of England. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN978-1-86077-352-5.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J2" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J3" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J4" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J5" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J6" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to services" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J8" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Mileage to J9" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Google (28 September 2022). "Total mileage" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
^ abChaudhari, Saiqa (5 March 2020). "Motorists being warned M61 junction six to five northbound shut due to police incident". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^Moffitt, Dominic. "The most dangerous roundabout in the county has been revealed". LancsLive. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
^"Welcome to the cone zone". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
motorway, motorway, north, west, england, between, manchester, preston, linking, manchester, orbital, motorway, with, motorway, m61m61, highlighted, blue, show, interactive, mapshown, north, west, england, show, north, west, englandshown, with, motorway, netwo. The M61 is a motorway in North West England between Manchester and Preston linking the M60 Manchester orbital motorway with the M6 motorway M61M61 highlighted in blue Show interactive mapShown in North West England Show map of North West EnglandShown with the UK motorway network Show UK motorways mapJunctions of the M61 Show map of M61 junctionsRoute informationMaintained by National HighwaysLength22 4 mi citation needed 36 0 km Existed1969 presentHistoryConstructed 1969 1970Major junctionsSoutheast endA580 ManchesterMajor intersectionsA666 M Wardley M65 J9 PrestonNorthwest endM6 PrestonLocationCountryUnited KingdomPrimarydestinationsBolton Chorley Manchester Preston WiganRoad networkRoads in the United KingdomMotorways A and B road zones M60 M62It runs from the A580 near Wardley and heads northwest past Bolton Horwich and Chorley to join the M6 near Bamber Bridge just north of the junction between the M6 and M65 It runs parallel to the A6 to its northeast for the entirety of its length essentially bypassing the towns and villages the A6 runs through between Manchester and Preston Contents 1 History 2 Services 3 Worsley Braided Interchange 4 Lancaster Canal 5 Junctions 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditThe Horwich to Worsley section began on Wednesday 1 January 1969 costing 12 4 million to open by the end of December 1970 built by the Alfred McAlpine and Leonard Fairclough amp Son consortium 1 Services EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The M61 has one service station Rivington services formerly Anderton Services and Bolton West services located between junctions 6 and 8 as junction 7 was never built This motorway service area was used in the filming of The Services a pilot episode for the Farnworth born comedian Peter Kay series That Peter Kay Thing a spoof documentary of a day in the life of the services staff Originally built as part of the Kenning Motor Group it later became part of the Rank Group portfolio before passing on to Pavilion Granada and First Motorway Services This services originally had two restaurants one each side and full facilities However due to the relatively short length of the M61 and wealth of alternative nearby facilities it suffered from low traffic and footfall This resulted in a lack of investment and the site passed from hand to hand It was also at various times operated on one side only access from the opposite carriageway being via the over bridge or closed down completely In 2009 it was acquired by the Blackburn based Euro Garages Group Instead of simply refurbishing the existing infrastructure a completely new facility was built on each of the old car parks All the original buildings were then demolished At various periods since the building of the M61 the lack of a junction 7 has been used by local politicians as a campaign feature This has once again come to the fore in 2022 as a proposal to relieve major congestion between junction 6 and Horwich The two proposals are to either build junction 7 where the M61 passes over the Bolton to Chorley road at Anderton or to incorporate junction 7 into the Rivington Services site Short term neither are likely to happen citation needed Worsley Braided Interchange Edit nbsp The complex of inter connected junctions 2 Junction number 1 Former junction number A666 and A6053 M61 slips to Kearsley Interchange M61 to Preston A666 M Kearsley Spur A666 M to M60 M61 to A580 east M60 outer ring road M60 slip roads to A580 west A580 East Lancs RoadAt the southeastern end at junction 2 the Worsley Braided Interchange a stretch of the road on Linnyshaw Moss earns a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most traffic lanes side by side 17 spread across eight almost parallel carriageways in a basketweave interchange design However it isn t clear how many of the lanes belong to the A666 M 2 3 4 5 The carriageways cross each other at shallow angles and make use of tunnel like structures to spread the load avoiding the need for skew bridges Spurs of the M61 radiate from junction 2 to four surrounding junctions effectively creating one large interchange consisting of the following junctions 6 The Kearsley Interchange links the A666 and A6053 to M61 junctions 2 and 3 a M61 junction 3 links the M61 southeastbound to the Kearsley Interchange M61 junction 2 Worsley Braided Interchange links to all of the other junctions M60 junction 15 Swinton Interchange 7 links the M60 to M61 junction 2 by using a short stretch of the A666 M b M60 junction 14 Wardley Interchange links the A580 East East Lancashire Road to M61 junction 2 and separately links the A580 West to the M60 East at junction 15 c The name Worsley Braided Interchange may also be used to describe the entire complex of five junctions On its opening on 17 December 1970 the complex was already known locally as Spaghetti Junction 8 9 17 months before the opening of Gravelly Hill Interchange in Birmingham nowadays most associated with that name in Britain but the name did not persist Lancaster Canal EditThe construction of the motorway between junctions 8 and 9 caused part of Lancaster Canal to be closed Before closure the canal had a southern section that had always been isolated from the main northern section but historically linked to it by a horse drawn tramway the Lancaster Canal Tramroad The new motorway crossed the route of the canal at three points The Ministry of Transport and British Waterways Board decided that the cost of constructing three bridges was not justified particularly as the canal was in poor condition and promoted a bill in Parliament for closure of this section of the canal 10 The southernmost part of this section remains and is now classified as a spur of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Junctions EditCounty Location mi 11 km Junction Name Destinations NotesGreater ManchesterWardley0 00 0 coord 1 Wardley InterchangeM60 Junction 14 nbsp A580 east East Lancs Road Manchester City Centre SalfordAccess only to A580 eastbound and from A580 westbound Spur goes directly to Junction 2 no access to or from Swinton Interchange M60 Formerly M62 Junction 14A coord 2 Swinton Interchange 7 M60 Junction 15 nbsp M60 Manchester Outer Ring Oldham Rochdale Leeds Salford Sale Manchester AirportSpur terminates here no access to or from Wardley Interchange A580 Formerly M61 Junction 1 and M62 Junction 14 2 03 22 coord 3 Worsley Braided InterchangeTo from northwest nbsp nbsp M61 Kearsley Spur to A666 Bolton via Kearsley Interchange To from southeast nbsp M61 spur to M60 only Swinton Interchange nbsp M61 spur to A580 only Wardley InterchangeNo access from Kearsley Spur to M61 northwestbound or from M61 southeastbound to Kearsley SpurNo access from M60 spur to A580 spur or from A580 spur to M60 spurFormerly signposted as Junction 3 for northwestbound traffic onlyThe Kearsley Spur is part of the M612 74 33 coord 4 To Kearsley Interchange nbsp nbsp To A666 A6053 Kearsley FarnworthExit only from M61 southeastbound to A666 A6053 roundabout Kearsley Interchange no entrance 5 08 04 coord 5 Watergate Lane Interchange 12 nbsp A6 Walkden Atherton Leigh6 911 15 coord 6 Hunger Hill Interchange 12 nbsp A58 Bolton Westhoughton Wigan9 515 36 coord 7 Horwich Link Interchange nbsp A6027 Horwich Bolton North ChorleyLancashire11 618 7Rivington services coord 8 formerly Bolton West or Anderton Chorley17 027 48 coord 9 Chorley North Link Junction nbsp A674 Chorley Leyland SouthportWalton Summit20 533 09 coord 10 Clayton Brook Interchange 13 M65 Junction 2 nbsp M65 Blackburn Burnley Preston South Bamber Bridge22 335 9 coord 11 Blacow Bridge 14 M6 Junction 30 nbsp M6 north The Lake District Preston Lancaster BlackpoolNo exit to M6 southbound or entrance from M6 northbound1 000 mi 1 609 km 1 000 km 0 621 mi Incomplete access nbsp Entrance to a tunnel like structure that carries the M60 to M61 spur under one carriageway of the M61 to A580 spur approaching Junction 2 from the southeast nbsp Part of the Swinton Interchange showing carriageways of the M61 to M60 spur crossing the M60 left and the A580 to M60 link road centre Mileages are calculated using the A580 spur the longer of the two spurs at the Manchester end Coordinate list Wardley Interchange A580 53 30 45 N 2 21 58 W 53 5124 N 2 3661 W 53 5124 2 3661 Wardley Interchange Swinton Interchange M60 53 31 27 N 2 21 39 W 53 5241 N 2 3608 W 53 5241 2 3608 Swinton Interchange Junction 2 53 31 54 N 2 22 52 W 53 5317 N 2 3810 W 53 5317 2 3810 Worsley Braided Interchange Junction 3 53 32 15 N 2 23 38 W 53 5374 N 2 3940 W 53 5374 2 3940 M61 Junction 3 Junction 4 53 32 41 N 2 26 58 W 53 5448 N 2 4495 W 53 5448 2 4495 Watergate Lane Interchange Junction 5 53 33 20 N 2 29 24 W 53 5556 N 2 4899 W 53 5556 2 4899 Hunger Hill Interchange Junction 6 53 34 28 N 2 32 44 W 53 5744 N 2 5455 W 53 5744 2 5455 Horwich Link Interchange Rivington Services 53 36 01 N 2 34 26 W 53 6002 N 2 5739 W 53 6002 2 5739 Rivington Services Junction 8 53 40 13 N 2 37 30 W 53 6703 N 2 6249 W 53 6703 2 6249 Chorley North Link Junction Junction 9 53 43 06 N 2 37 47 W 53 7183 N 2 6298 W 53 7183 2 6298 Clayton Brook Interchange M6 Junction 30 53 44 09 N 2 38 55 W 53 7359 N 2 6487 W 53 7359 2 6487 Blacow Bridge Notes Edit Confusingly the A666 southbound approach to this junction has signs identifying it as junction 2 which appears to incompatible with the other M61 junction numbers Other approaches display no number The Kearsley Spur from this junction to M61 junction 2 is the A666 M M60 junction 15 was once also known as M61 junction 1 and as of 2022 some Ordnance Survey maps still display this but all road signs depicting 1 have been removed as the actual junction 1 is on the A580 Some sources name the junction to be part of Worsley Braided Interchange Before the M60 was created it was M62 junction 14 Junction 14 refers only to the M60 link road The M61 mainline has no junction number although some sources have claimed it was junction 1 Before the M60 was created it was M62 junction 14A References Edit Leicester Daily Mercury Tuesday 31 December 1968 page 12 British Roads Database www cbrd co uk URL accessed 18 February 2008 The number s up for Britain s roads The Daily Telegraph Telegraph Media Group Limited October 2002 Retrieved 18 February 2008 The west side of Manchester is notoriously busy and holds the record for the widest section of motorway an impressive 17 lanes where the A666 M for the M61 and M60 meet Matthews Peter ed 1992 The Guinness Book of Records 1993 Enfield Guinness World Records Limited p 121 ISBN 0 85112 978 1 Google 26 September 2022 Worsley Braided Interchange Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 26 September 2022 Landranger map Map Map of M61 Junction 2 Ordnance Survey n d Retrieved 30 September 2022 a b Blakey Ashlie 15 September 2021 LIVE Queues on M60 near Trafford Park after accident latest updates Manchester Evening News Retrieved 29 September 2022 Chartres John 18 December 1970 Spaghetti Junction opens without warning signs The Times London Retrieved 21 June 2012 Johnson W M 2000 A627 M Rochdale Oldham Motorway Archived 29 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine Lancashire County Council website accessed 28 June 2011 Yeadon H L 2005 The Motorway Achievement Building the Network The North West of England Chichester Phillimore amp Co ISBN 978 1 86077 352 5 Mileage sources Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J2 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J3 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J4 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J5 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J6 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to services Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J8 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Mileage to J9 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 Google 28 September 2022 Total mileage Map Google Maps Google Retrieved 28 September 2022 a b Chaudhari Saiqa 5 March 2020 Motorists being warned M61 junction six to five northbound shut due to police incident Lancashire Telegraph Retrieved 29 September 2022 Moffitt Dominic The most dangerous roundabout in the county has been revealed LancsLive Retrieved 29 September 2022 Welcome to the cone zone Lancashire Telegraph Retrieved 29 September 2022 External links EditKML file edit help Template Attached KML M61 motorwayKML is from Wikidata CBRD Motorway Database M61 Lancashire County Council Historic Highways M61 The Motorway Archive M61 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title M61 motorway amp oldid 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