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| Route information | |
| Length | 29.5 mi (47.5 km) |
| History | Construction began 29 April 1929 and finished in 1934 |
| Major junctions | |
| West end | Kirkdale, Liverpool |
| Major intersections |  A5058 M57A59  A5207 A5208 A570 A571A58 A49  M6 A573 A572 A579 A574 A577 A575 M61 M60 A5185 A666A6 |
| East end | Irlams o' th' Height,Salford (A6) |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Primary destinations | St Helens,Leigh,Manchester,Liverpool |
| Road network | |
TheA580 (officially theLiverpool–East Lancashire Road, colloquially theEast Lancs) is theUnited Kingdom's first purpose-builtA road.[1] The road was officially opened by KingGeorge V on 18 July 1934. Despite its name, the actual road runs through the modern daymetropolitan counties ofMerseyside andGreater Manchester which were historically inLancashire when the road was built until 1974. Notable towns and cities along the route includeLiverpool,Kirkby,St. Helens,Leigh,Swinton andSalford. It was described as "Britain's biggest road" at the time.[2]
The road was built to provide better access between thePort of Liverpool and the industrial areas ofEast Lancashire aroundManchester.[1] The new high-qualitytrunk road would supersede the indirect and heavily built-upA57 throughPrescot,Warrington andEccles. Journey times for roadhaulage would be reduced to under an hour.
This road was built with a 1930s Dutch-style cycle path running its entire length. Many roads at this time were built with cycle paths but most have been lost due to road widening schemes.
The first part, which was completed within three years, was fromWalton, Liverpool, to the junction with theA6 atIrlams o' th' Height inSalford. The 29.5-mile (47.5 km) road was constructed in an almost straight alignment with few curves.
To be a high-speed trunk route, its 1930s planners designed some parts to be three roads in one. The central section was exclusively for through traffic while adjacent side roads – either side of the main carriageway – provided local access.[1] Although the sections within Liverpool weredual carriageway from the beginning, a few short stretches through Salford continue to use the original three-lane layout. The rest of the road was converted to dual with acentral reservation in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the original 1930s bridges remain; they were built from steel in preparation for any future expansion as they would be easier to replace than ones constructed from moulded concrete.
The road remains the UK's largest pre-motorway project. In 2004 theHighways Agencydetrunked the road, passing control and maintenance over to the local authorities along its route.
With the completion of the first phase, the next stage was to extend the road beyond Salford and into East Lancashire proper. However this was never undertaken. Its failure was largely due to the road's location. Despite linking North West England's largest cities, the East Lancs remained isolated from the rest of the UK's national road network. Both ends of the highway began in high-density urban areas that were not close to any comparable infrastructure that could assist rapid transit connections.
By 1942, proposals were put forward to extend the A580 across thePennines toHull on the east coast of Britain.[3] Although this plan never came to fruition, its purpose became the foundation for the construction of theM62 motorway in 1960.
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53°28′15″N2°36′54″W / 53.4707°N 2.6149°W /53.4707; -2.6149
