M63 motorway
Encyclopedia
The M63 motorway was a major road in the United Kingdom
. It was completely renumbered as part of the M60 motorway
in 1999.
. When the westward extension of the M62 in the direction of Liverpool
opened, the existing section of motorway south of the Eccles Interchange was renumbered as the M63.
at Chester Road (now junction 7 of the M60). This section includes the Barton High Level Bridge, a bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal
. The embankments for the bridge were the first physical step towards the construction of any motorway in the UK. With the extension of the M62 west to Liverpool, the section from the Eccles Interchange down to Stretford was redesignated M63.
The junctions were numbered in the opposite direction to the current M60 numbering, with M63 junction 1 being the Eccles Interchange, running to junction 7 at Chester Road. Originally there was no junction 6.
The first involved the construction of the A6144(M) motorway
, and a new junction and parallel link roads for the M63. The new junction was numbered as junction 6 (now junction 8 of the M60). The new junction forced the closure of junction 5, which served Urmston
and the B5213, due to the small gap between the two.
The second involved the widening of the motorway between the Eccles Interchange and junction 3 (now junction 9 of the M60), including the Barton motorway bridge, which was a major engineering feat.
, so much of the motorway was on a raised embankment to be clear of potential floodwater. Some of the excavated land for the embankment allowed construction of Sale Water Park
, which is adjacent to the motorway. The section of motorway ran from what was then junction 7 at Chester Road (A56) to the recently completed Kingsway Interchange with the A34, what was then junction 10 of the M63 (now junction 3/4 of the M60).
A major free-flow junction was provided for the A5103
Princess Parkway, which provided links towards the city of Manchester
and the M56 motorway
.
This section of motorway was the second section completed, opening as the M63 (and part as the M56 motorway
) in January 1974. It was only a short section, running from what is now junction 2 of the M56 to junction 2 of the M60 (then junction 11 of the M63), but it included a very large free-flow junction providing links to the M56 and A34.
, running onto the congested A560
. The 2.5 miles (4 km) Stockport East-West bypass opened to traffic in July 1982 as far as the Portwood Roundabout, then junction 13 of the M63, now junction 27 of the M60.
A significant feature of the bypass is where the motorway passes through two of the arches of the large railway viaduct
in the centre of Stockport (one of the largest brick-built structures in Europe
). In much of the cutting on the eastern side of the viaduct, red sandstone, on which much of the town is built, can be seen very close to the motorway.
The section of motorway was widened from two to three lane carriageways in 1999 and 2000, around the time when the M63 was renumbered to M60.
as far as the junction with the A57
and M67 motorway
. The M63 was extended eastwards from the Portwood roundabout to a junction at Brinnington
, opening in April 1989.
The complete scheme intended for the M63 to continue east from Brinnington to join the A560 at Hattersley
, and for the M66 to continue south becoming A6(M) motorway, forming a Stockport North-South bypass. However, the remaining plans for the M63 were subsequently abandoned, and the southern extension, although it still exists at the planning stage in an altered and downgraded form, has yet to be built.
The junction at Brinnington (now junction 25 of the M60, then junction 15 of the M63) left room for both the extension to the east and the A6(M) to be constructed. As a result, the exit to junction 25 in the clockwise direction is from the outside lane
, and the carriageways passing through this junction have sharp corners on the M60 main-line, as these were originally intended to be slip roads. In the clockwise direction the motorway is now subject to a reduced speed limit
through the junction. The current plans for the North-South bypass do not intend to complete the junction as originally intended, or to utilise stubs of the slip roads already constructed in preparation.
This section was widened from two to three lane carriageways along with the Stockport East-West Bypass in 1999 and 2000.
Despite the M63 being renumbered in 1999 to M60, many roadsigns still existed pointing travellers to the M63 until late-2005. There is still at least one M63 sign. One exists on the roundabout Redclyffe Circle near the Trafford Centre
saying Stockport, Chester
(M56), Birmingham
(M6
) M63. Another sign can be found on Trafford Road, Salford Quays across the road from Exchange Quay.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It was completely renumbered as part of the M60 motorway
M60 motorway
The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...
in 1999.
Formation of the M63
The earliest section of the M63 opened in 1960 as part of the M62 motorwayM62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
. When the westward extension of the M62 in the direction of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
opened, the existing section of motorway south of the Eccles Interchange was renumbered as the M63.
The Stretford-Eccles bypass
This was the first stretch of motorway to be built, opening as the M62. This section runs from the Worsley Interchange (what is now Junction 13 of the M60) as far as the junction with the A56A56 road
The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the...
at Chester Road (now junction 7 of the M60). This section includes the Barton High Level Bridge, a bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
. The embankments for the bridge were the first physical step towards the construction of any motorway in the UK. With the extension of the M62 west to Liverpool, the section from the Eccles Interchange down to Stretford was redesignated M63.
The junctions were numbered in the opposite direction to the current M60 numbering, with M63 junction 1 being the Eccles Interchange, running to junction 7 at Chester Road. Originally there was no junction 6.
Developments in the late 1980s
In 1986, work began on two major schemes on the route.The first involved the construction of the A6144(M) motorway
A6144(M) motorway
The A6144 was a motorway in Carrington, Greater Manchester, England. It was rare among motorways in that it was entirely single carriageway, the only motorway of its kind in the UK. The others are dual carriageway for at least some of their length....
, and a new junction and parallel link roads for the M63. The new junction was numbered as junction 6 (now junction 8 of the M60). The new junction forced the closure of junction 5, which served Urmston
Urmston
Urmston is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of around 41,000. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies about six miles to the southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is marked by the River Mersey and the...
and the B5213, due to the small gap between the two.
The second involved the widening of the motorway between the Eccles Interchange and junction 3 (now junction 9 of the M60), including the Barton motorway bridge, which was a major engineering feat.
The Sale Eastern and Northenden bypass
This section of motorway was the third section of the motorway completed, opening as the M63 in September 1974, just 8 months after the section of the Sharston bypass opened. The route largely followed the lightly developed valley and flood planes of the River MerseyRiver Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, so much of the motorway was on a raised embankment to be clear of potential floodwater. Some of the excavated land for the embankment allowed construction of Sale Water Park
Sale Water Park
Sale Water Park is a area of countryside and parkland including a artificial lake in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Opened in 1979 and owned by Trafford council, the water park lies in an area of the green belt running through the Mersey river valley between...
, which is adjacent to the motorway. The section of motorway ran from what was then junction 7 at Chester Road (A56) to the recently completed Kingsway Interchange with the A34, what was then junction 10 of the M63 (now junction 3/4 of the M60).
A major free-flow junction was provided for the A5103
A5103 road
The A5103 is a major road in England. It runs from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre to junction 3 of the M56 motorway and is one of Manchester's principal radial routes.- A6 to the A57 motorway :...
Princess Parkway, which provided links towards the city of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and the M56 motorway
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
.
The Sharston bypass
M56 motorway
The M56 Motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, Cheshire and is in length. It is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales...
) in January 1974. It was only a short section, running from what is now junction 2 of the M56 to junction 2 of the M60 (then junction 11 of the M63), but it included a very large free-flow junction providing links to the M56 and A34.
The Stockport East-West bypass
By 1974, the motorway had reached the outskirts of StockportStockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, running onto the congested A560
A560 road
The A560 is a primary route that runs from the A56 in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, to Hattersley, Tameside following a complex route that involves Primary Route, non-primary route, single and dual carriage way, some complex motorway junctions and, at one point, carriageways running on both...
. The 2.5 miles (4 km) Stockport East-West bypass opened to traffic in July 1982 as far as the Portwood Roundabout, then junction 13 of the M63, now junction 27 of the M60.
A significant feature of the bypass is where the motorway passes through two of the arches of the large railway viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
in the centre of Stockport (one of the largest brick-built structures in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
). In much of the cutting on the eastern side of the viaduct, red sandstone, on which much of the town is built, can be seen very close to the motorway.
The section of motorway was widened from two to three lane carriageways in 1999 and 2000, around the time when the M63 was renumbered to M60.
Portwood to Brinnington
This scheme was part of a wider scheme, which involved the construction of a section of what was then the M66 motorwayM66 motorway
The M66 is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56.-Route:...
as far as the junction with the A57
A57 road
The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass , around the Ladybower Reservoir, through Sheffield and past Worksop...
and M67 motorway
M67 motorway
The M67 is a urban motorway in Greater Manchester, England which heads east from the M60 motorway passing through Denton and Hyde before ending near Mottram. It had originally conceived as the first part of a trans-Pennine motorway between Manchester and Sheffield connecting the A57 motorway to...
. The M63 was extended eastwards from the Portwood roundabout to a junction at Brinnington
Brinnington
Brinnington is a north-eastern suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester. It is known locally as "Brinny".It is situated on a bluff above a bend in the Tame Valley and is an area of vast regeneration, including the demolition of the Top Shops in 2007, which were replaced by new shops, 53 shared...
, opening in April 1989.
The complete scheme intended for the M63 to continue east from Brinnington to join the A560 at Hattersley
Hattersley
Hattersley is a residential area within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Hyde and 6 miles west of the Peak District National Park....
, and for the M66 to continue south becoming A6(M) motorway, forming a Stockport North-South bypass. However, the remaining plans for the M63 were subsequently abandoned, and the southern extension, although it still exists at the planning stage in an altered and downgraded form, has yet to be built.
The junction at Brinnington (now junction 25 of the M60, then junction 15 of the M63) left room for both the extension to the east and the A6(M) to be constructed. As a result, the exit to junction 25 in the clockwise direction is from the outside lane
Passing lane
A passing lane or overtaking lane is the lane on a multi-lane highway or motorway closest to the center of the road ....
, and the carriageways passing through this junction have sharp corners on the M60 main-line, as these were originally intended to be slip roads. In the clockwise direction the motorway is now subject to a reduced speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
through the junction. The current plans for the North-South bypass do not intend to complete the junction as originally intended, or to utilise stubs of the slip roads already constructed in preparation.
This section was widened from two to three lane carriageways along with the Stockport East-West Bypass in 1999 and 2000.
Signage
Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre. It is the highest valued shopping centre in the...
saying Stockport, Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
(M56), Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
) M63. Another sign can be found on Trafford Road, Salford Quays across the road from Exchange Quay.