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A6144(M): The
Weird Motorway
This is a story of a legend: how it came about, and how it came to a sad end.
Birth of a Spur The need to get bypass for Sale built was highlighted during the 1980s. The growth of the industrial estates around Carrington, Trafford meant that large numbers of lorries were using the A6144 and A56 through Sale in order to reach the M63 to the north of the town. So it was decided that a link road would be built to the west of Sale to link the A6144 to the M63.
A 1.5 mile long route was chosen, and subsequently work began on building the road in February 1986. There were difficulties in its construction, due to the poor soils that lay beneath the line of the road. As a result, 765 litres of peat had to be removed and replaced with selected fill. In other areas, a two feet thick drainage blanket had to be installed with a series of vertical drains beneath them, in order to allow the alluvial flood plains to drain better. And on top of that, the construction company had to monitor a fuel pipeline to ensure it didn't move!
Possible Upgrade? The Carrington Spur, as the road was to be known as, opened in October 1987, some ten months ahead of schedule. It was opened as a single carriageway route, but designated as a motorway - the A6144(M) - as traffic joining the road could go nowhere else but the M63 (the junction at the other end was a "dumbbell" interchange, but it would be difficult for big vehicles to turn round!) The plan was for the motorway to be possibly extended, not as part of the M60 as mentioned above, but to ultimately provide a bypass for the A56 around Sale and Timperley, meeting the A56 just to the north of Altrincham. If required, the existing road would be upgraded to a dual carriageway, in order to suit the traffic capacity requirements should the industrial parks be expanded further. However, this extension would not materialise, and the A6144(M) would remain as the weird little motorway it became famous for. It was a single carriageway road, with a set of traffic lights at one end, and a couple of emergency lay-bys instead of a hard shoulder.
Death of a Legend
So at midnight on 24 May 2006, the Special Road status was revoked, and the A6144(M) became plain old A6144. The speed limit was reduced to 50mph. Yet certain groups of road users were still banned from using the road, making the downgrade seem pointless. Either way, it was seen as the end of an era by fans and road enthusiasts across the UK.
However, not all is lost. On a reconnaissance mission, CBRD's Chris Marshall saved the A6144(M) sign - plus a couple of other signs and posts - from the scrap heap. The sign is now in retirement, however does tour the country with Chris on SABRE awaydays and events.
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All content in this site is Copyright
© 2008 to Road to Nowhere, except where
credited appropriately. | ||||||||
This
was perhaps one of Britain's most famous motorways. Not for the amount of
traffic that used it, not for its length - it was famous because it was single
carriageway for its entire length, a single carriageway road in which you cold
legally travel 70mph down.
However, the road was actually thought of as far back as the 1950s, as
part of a bigger "M60" motorway (not the same as the current one!) to
link Manchester with the M6. If it had been built, the A556 wouldn't
today be laden with masses of M56 - M6 traffic. It was due to its need
to be built that the A6144(M) was started ahead of the rest of the road.
Further information on the M60 can be found at
Despite
being a motorway, the A6144(M) was one of a small number of such roads
that were not a trunk route. Responsibility for the road lay with
Trafford Council, who decided they wanted the motorway to be downgraded
and its special status revoked. This would only be accomplished with the
widening of the M60 Manchester Ring Road, as the existing roundabouts
would have to be replaced; a single large roundabout was constructed in
their place, so large, prohibited vehicles could turn around to avoid
joining the motorway.
