M62 motorway Totally Explained

Everything about the M62 Motorway totally explained

The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 (Shannon to Saint Petersburg) and E22 (Holyhead to Ishim). The road is long; however, for seven miles (11 km), it shares its route with the M60 motorway around Manchester. The motorway, which was first proposed in the 1930s, and originally conceived as two separate routes, was built in stages between 1971 and 1976, with construction beginning at Pole Moor and finishing in Tarbock. The motorway also absorbed the northern end of the Stretford-Eccles bypass, which was built between 1957 and 1960. Adjusted for inflation to 2007, the motorway cost approximately £765 million to build. The motorway is relatively busy, with an average daily traffic flow of 100,000 cars in Yorkshire, and has several areas prone to gridlock, in particular, between Leeds and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire.
Since the Stretford-Eccles bypass was opened, the motorway's history beyond construction has included a coach bombing on 4 February 1974, and a rail crash on 28 February 2001. The motorway is additionally memorable for Stott Hall Farm, a farm in the Pennines situated between the carriageways, existing due to the geology of the surrounding area and has since become one of the most known sights in West Yorkshire.
The road passes the cities of Salford, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds. Between Liverpool and Manchester, and east of Leeds, the terrain of the road is relatively flat, while between Manchester and Leeds, the road crosses the hilly Pennines to its highest point on Saddleworth Moor, which is also the highest point of any motorway in the United Kingdom, at above sea level.

History

Origin of the road

The origins of the M62 date back to the 1930s, where the need for a route between Lancashire and Yorkshire had been agreed after discussion by the respective highway authorities of the counties. At the same time, it was envisaged that a route between Liverpool and Hull was also needed, connecting the two ports to industrial Yorkshire.
   Some years later, after World War II, the Minister of Transport appointed engineers to inspect road standards between the A580 road in Swinton and the A1 road near Selby. In 1952, the route for a trans-Pennine motorway, known as The Lancashire-Yorkshire Motorway, was laid down, with Ferrybridge chosen as the eastern terminus rather than Selby. In the latter cases, the motorways were constructed (the A57(M), A58(M), and A167(M) respectively). The M62 was intended to terminate upon the Inner Motorway, but due to the Inner Motorway not being constructed, the M62 link wasn't constructed either. The proposed route would follow the railway into Liverpool as far as Edge Hill, with junctions with Rathbone Road and Durning Road, dropping two lanes at the latter, before terminating on the Islington Radial. known as the M52. Construction of the motorway between Liverpool and Manchester started in 1971, with the construction of a link between the M57 and the M6 motorway. Construction started in 1957, and opened in 1960.
   Two separate motorways were planned, with the M52 running from Liverpool into Salford; the other, the M62, would link Pole Moor with the Stretford-Eccles Bypass. The section between the interchange with the Stretford-Eccles Bypass and Salford is now occupied by the M602 motorway.
   The Eccles-Pole Moor section was opened in 1971. Between Eccles and Pole Moor, 67 crossings of the motorway were required, including seven viaducts and eight junctions. The construction of the section between Saddleworth and Pole Moor was a difficult task, given the inhospitable hilly terrain, numerous peat bogs, and undesirable weather conditions. To build this section of motorway, of material was moved, of which were solid rock; of this material was peat, which had to be cut from the rock strata and was eventually deposited on hillsides adjacent to the motorway. In addition to the problems caused by removal of the material, the geology of the moors resulted in the engineers needing to split the carriageways for three-quarters of a mile in the middle of this section, sparing Stott Hall Farm from demolition. Two notable bridge constructions were the bridge carrying the Pennine Way, which is curved downwards with long cantilevers, and Scammonden Bridge, often called the longest single-span non-suspension bridge in Britain, which carries a B road above the motorway. Concurrently, a section of the motorway was being built between Gildersome and Lofthouse, On the first contract, care was needed at the crossing of the River Calder due to the alluvial bedrock, while, on the second, precautions were taken as the length was built on old coal mine workings. The sections between Ferrybridge and North Cave were the last sections of the motorway to be conceived and a partial collapse of the framework, caused by bolts joining a cross-beam to a trestle shearing. The problems with the Ouse Bridge pushed the opening of the whole section east of Goole back to May 1976. Since then, two new junctions were opened — in December 2002, the previously missing Junction 8 was opened to allow access to the A574 and the Omega Development Site, while in January 2006, Junction 32a was opened, to link the motorway with the recently upgraded A1(M). The UK's first car-sharing lane on a motorway is planned to be opened at Junction 26, allowing any eastbound traffic from the M606 with more than one occupant to use the lane. An additional proposal to widen the motorway to four lanes between Junctions 25 and 28 to reduce congestion is in the planning stage.

Incidents

Since the motorway was opened, it has been the focus of two major events. On 4 February 1974, a bomb was detonated on a coach containing off-duty army personnel and family members, between Chain Bar (Junction 26) and Gildersome (Junction 27), resulting in the deaths of 12 people and injuries in 38 other people. After the attack, the nearby Hartshead Moor service station was used as a makeshift hospital and base of investigation. The Provisional Irish Republican Army were deemed responsible for the attacks. The road forks around the farm for engineering reasons owing to the surrounding area's geology, though a local myth persists that the road had to be split because the owners refused to sell the land during its construction. is now farmed by Paul Thorp. and one of the best-known sights in West Yorkshire.

Impact upon culture

The M62 motorway is mentioned in a number of songs. One of the earliest songs is "Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune)" by It's Immaterial, a 1986 song which described the motorway as a way of getting to Manchester from the band's hometown of Liverpool. "The Snake", a song from the album Secrets by The Human League, discusses the road as an alternative route to Hyde from the Snake Pass, the main subject of the song, and suggests the A628 as another alternative.
More generally, "It's Grim Up North", by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, released in 1991, consisted of a list of towns and cities in the "grim North", in addition to the motorway itself. Doves named a song after the M62 on their 2002 album The Last Broadcast, which is stated to have been recorded "under the M62 flyover at Northenden", although the M62 is several miles to the north. "The Man Who Lives On The M62" by John Shuttleworth and "Tradition" by Kathryn Williams refer not to the motorway itself, but to Stott Hall Farm. Shuttleworth compares his emotions of sorrow to those of the inhabitants of the farm, while Williams uses the urban legend of the owner's refusal to sell the farm as an example of tradition. Rugby league is a popular sport in northern England — so much so that a 1994 survey revealed that sixty percent of people regularly attending rugby league matches lived in only four postal districts along the M62. Only two teams in the Super League, Catalans Dragons and Harlequins Rugby League, play outside northern England, and thus the phrase "M62 corridor" is sometimes used as a synonym for the rugby league heartlands.

Traffic

The M62, in 2006, had a average daily traffic flow of 100,000 cars east of the Pennines, and 78,000 cars west of the Pennines. The border between the two areas is defined to be the West Yorkshire/Lancashire border at Junction 22. For comparison, the statistics for 1999 were 90,000 and 70,000 respectively, and the 2006 average daily traffic flow for the busiest stretch of motorway in the United Kingdom, the western M25 motorway (that is, between junctions 7 and 23), was 144,000 cars. slowing to regular gridlock at Junction 27.

Route

In addition to passing Warrington, Manchester, Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield, the towns of Huyton, St Helens, Widnes, Bury, Rochdale, Dewsbury, Pontefract, Selby and Goole are designated as primary destinations along the road. The road is a terminus to two motorways: the M57 motorway near Prescot and the M18 motorway near Rawcliffe; and has four spur routes: the M602 motorway, which serves Manchester, the A627(M) motorway, which serves Oldham and Rochdale, the M606 motorway, which serves Bradford, and the M621 motorway, which serves Leeds. Despite Hull being listed as a primary destination, the motorway downgrades near North Cave, sixteen miles west.
The motorway starts on Queen's Drive, on Liverpool's middle ring road. From there it runs eastward to Liverpool's outer ring road, the M57. The route has four exits for Warrington: Junction 7, an interchange with the A57 road, Junction 8, which also houses Ikea, Junction 9, which interchanges with the A49 road, originally intended to be a motorway itself, and Junction 11. Between these is Junction 10, which is a cloverstack interchange with the M6 motorway. The M62 then crosses Chat Moss before interchanging with the M60 motorway. Due to original plans being to extend the section of the motorway into Manchester, motorists must turn off to stay on the route into Yorkshire. In Greater Manchester, the motorway shares seven junctions, 12 to 18, with the M60 motorway. Junction 13, which is signposted for Swinton, is situated only half a mile from Junction 12, leaving exiting motorists the hazard of crossing the still-merging M62 traffic.After this, there's Worsley Braided Interchange, which, in addition to serving Junctions 14 and 15, also serves Junctions 1 to 3 of the M61 motorway, which terminates to Preston. Near Junction 22, the motorway gains a lane to climb Windy Hill, before crossing the border into Yorkshire and interchanging with the rural A672 road, reaching the highest point of any motorway in England (1,221 ft / 372 m). There is then a seven-mile (11 km) travel through the Pennines to the next junction, passing Scammonden Water and Stott Hall Farm. The next junction is Junction 23, which is only accessible for westbound traffic. After this, the road dips through a valley to Junction 24 and drops slowly before interchanging with the A644 road at Junction 25. Between Junctions 22 and 25, the road is used as a border between the metropolitan boroughs of Calderdale and Kirklees.
At Junction 26, named Chain Bar, the motorway interchanges with several roads: the M606 motorway, a spur into Bradford, the A58 road, which runs between Prescot and Wetherby, and the A638 road, which runs to Doncaster. The next junction also serves a spur route: the M621 motorway, before bypassing Leeds to the south to the interchange with the M1 motorway, Lofthouse Interchange, at Junction 29. East of Leeds, the motorway serves Wakefield at Junction 30 and crosses by the River Calder. At Junction 32a, the road is crossed by the A1(M) motorway, which also runs parallel to it for a short distance. The next junction serves the A162 road, previously the A1, and Ferrybridge service station. After Ferrybridge, the motorway becomes relatively flat, except for a mile-long bridge that crosses the River Ouse. For approximately ten miles after this, the road runs towards Hull, serving Howden and North Cave, before downgrading to the A63 road.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations		Notes
Merseyside	Knotty Ash	0	4			No westbound exit or eastbound entry. Start of motorway
	Huyton	1	5		Huyton, Knotty Ash
	Tarbock	4	6		Prescot, Runcorn, Southport
	Rainhill	7	7		St. Helens, Widnes
Cheshire	Burtonwood	11	8		Warrington, Burtonwood
	Burtonwood	11	8	Burtonwood Services
	Winwick	13	9		Warrington, Newton-le-Willows
	Croft	15	10		Birmingham, Preston, Chester, Manchester Airport
	Risley	17	11		Warrington, Birchwood
Greater Manchester	Eccles	24	12		Ring Road, Salford, Manchester Westbound only: Warrington, Liverpool, Birmingham Eastbound only: Bolton, Bury, Leeds	Motorway enters multiplex with M60. Motorists must turn off to stay on the route.
	Worsley	25	13		Swinton, Worsley, Leigh
		27	14		St. Helens, Leigh	Worsley Braided Interchange: No westbound entry or eastbound exit to A580 from junction 14; threaded junction with Junctions 2 and 3 of the M61.
		27	15		Bolton, Wigan, Preston
	Swinton	27	16		Salford, Pendlebury, Kearsley	No eastbound entry or westbound exit.
	Whitefield	29	17		Whitefield, Prestwich
	Simister	31	18		Leeds, Bury, Blackburn, Burnley, Ashton-under-Lyne	Motorway leaves multiplex with M60.
	Birch	33		Birch Services
	Heywood	34	19		Heywood, Middleton
	Castleton	36	20		Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne
	Milnrow	38	21		Milnrow, Shaw
West Yorkshire	Saddleworth Moor	42	22		Ripponden, Saddleworth, Sowerby Bridge
	Outlane	49	23		Huddersfield	No westbound exit or eastbound entry
	Ainley Top	51	24		Huddersfield, Halifax
	Brighouse	55	25		Brighouse, Halifax
	Clifton	56	Hartshead Moor services
	Scholes	58	26		Bradford, Halifax, Cleckheaton
	Gildersome	62	27		Leeds, Bradford, Batley, Morley
	Tingley	65	28		Leeds, Dewsbury, Leeds Bradford International Airport
	Lofthouse	68	29		London, Leeds, Wakefield, The NORTH
	Bottom Boat	70	30		Rothwell, Wakefield
	Normanton	73	31		Normanton, Castleford
	Glasshoughton	76	32		Pontefract, Castleford
	Ferrybridge	78	32A		The NORTH, the SOUTH, Wetherby, Doncaster
		79	33		The SOUTH, Doncaster, Pontefract, Ferrybridge, Knottingley
		79	33	Ferrybridge Services
North Yorkshire	Eggborough	84	34		Selby, Doncaster
East Riding of Yorkshire	Rawcliffe	92	35		The SOUTH, Doncaster
	Goole	95	36		Goole
	Howden	98	37		Howden, Bridlington	A63 exits multiplex with A614 and enters multiplex with M62
	North Cave	107	38	B1230	North Cave, Gilberdyke	End of motorway; M62 downgrades to A63

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