Roads Trivia

1. The M61 and A666 (M) between junctions 1 and 3 is the widest section of motorway in the UK at 187m. It also has the most lanes side by side of any motorway in the UK with 17 lanes and 8 hard shoulders.

Interestingly, the M60 just south of the junction with the M61 is also very wide at 132m. It has 17 lanes and 6 hard shoulders.

2. The M60 Clockwise is not a fully free-flowing motorway whereas the M60 anti-clockwise is. This is because when heading clockwise, traffic must exit the motorway at junction 18 (Simister Island), go through 3 sets of traffic lights on a roundabout and then re-enter the motorway to continue on the M60, otherwise they will end up on the M62. Whereas, anti-clockwise traffic can use the sliproad to bypass the traffic lights at that roundabout, meaning it is free-flowing. This problem is being fixed by Highways England as a giant loop sliproad is going to be built to allow clockwise M60 traffic to bypass the roundabout.

3. The M60 is the only motorway in the UK which is a complete circle (other than clockwise at Simister Island, although this will be changed soon). The only other contender is the M25 which is not a complete circle because the Dartford crossing is classed as the A282 and not the M25.

4. The A627(M) which connects Oldham to Rochdale, is the shortest motorway which has a spur. The motorway at just 4 miles has a 0.6 mile spur, Slattocks Link. The spur may have originally been planned to be numbered as the A6138(M) but there is very limited evidence that this was ever the case (see Sabre Roads for more info)

5. The A627(M) is the only motorway in the UK which has traffic lights on the motorway carriageway not at the end or on slip roads (other than the M60 clockwise). This is at its junction 3 with the M62. The two motorway carriageways drift far apart on the approach to the roundabout to facillitate the future construction of a flyover. However, since the motorway was built in 1972 these have not been built or planned to be built. Also there is now a weighbridge blocking flyovers from being built on the south side of the roundabout so they will likely never be built.

6. The A57(M) Mancunian Way flyover is numbered as the A635(M) in legal documents but has not been signposted as such. (See Pathetic Motorways for more info)

7. The A6144, Carrington Spur, was formally one of only two fully single-carriageway motorways in the UK, being numbered as A6144(M) until its downgrade in 2006. The only remaining fully single-carriageway motorway in the UK is the A38(M) Aston Expressway in Birmingham.

8. During peak hours, traffic often backs up all the way from junction 12 on the M60/M62 couplet until junction 19 on the M62. That's around 11 miles of standstill traffic! The traffic also backs up from this junction to junction 4 of the M61. That's around 7 miles of standstill traffic! Adding to a total of 15 miles!

Proposals were made in the 1980s to solve this traffic issue involving a new motorway signposted as the M62 (putting an end to the M60/M62 couplet). This new motorway start just before junction 12 on the M62 and end just after junction 18 (Simister Island) on the M62 with two intermediate junctions: one at M60 junction 14 allowing access to the M61 and A666(M) away from Manchester and the other at M60 junction 18 allowing access to the M66 away from Manchester. This would allow the M62 through traffic to avoid this section of the M60. However, the construction of this motorway would involve the demolition of 1000s of homes and would cost £billions, meaning the government has confirmed it will never be built. See Pathetic Motorways for more info.

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