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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancashire-Yorkshire Motorway | ||||
 M62 highlighted in blue | ||||
 Looking east at junction 22, the highest point on the English motorway network, from thePennine Way, 2010 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
Part of E20 and E22 | ||||
| Maintained by National Highways Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Liverpool City Council | ||||
| Length | 107 mi[citation needed] (172 km) 7 miles (11 km) are part of theM60 motorway | |||
| History | Opened: 1960 Completed: 1976 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | Liverpool | |||
| Major intersections |   J6 →M57 motorway
  J35 →M18 motorway | |||
| East end | North Cave | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | Merseyside,Cheshire,Greater Manchester,West Yorkshire,North Yorkshire,East Riding of Yorkshire | |||
| Primary destinations | Liverpool Huyton Warrington Manchester Oldham Rochdale Huddersfield Halifax Bradford Leeds Wakefield Pontefract Goole | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheM62 is a 107-mile-long (172 km) west–easttrans-Pennine motorway inNorthern England, connectingLiverpool andHull viaManchester,Bradford,Leeds andWakefield; 7 miles (11 km) of the routeis shared with theM60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of the unsignedEuroroutesE20 (Shannon toSaint Petersburg) andE22 (Holyhead toIshim).
The motorway, which was first proposed in the 1930s, and conceived as two separate routes, was opened in stages between 1971 and 1976, with construction beginning atPole Moor nearHuddersfield and finishing at that time inTarbock on the outskirts of Liverpool. The motorway absorbed the northern end of theStretford-Eccles bypass, which was built between 1957 and 1960. Adjusted for inflation to 2007, its construction cost approximately £765 million. The motorway has an average daily traffic flow of 144,000 vehicles inWest Yorkshire, and has several sections prone totraffic congestion, in particular, between Leeds and Huddersfield and the M60 section around Eccles. TheM62 coach bombing of 1974 and theGreat Heck rail crash of 2001 are the largest incidents to have occurred on the motorway.
Stott Hall Farm, situated between the carriageways on the Pennine section, has become one of the best-known sights on the motorway. The M62 has no junctions numbered 1, 2 or 3, or even an officially numbered 4, because it was intended to start in Liverpool proper, not in its outskirts.
Between Liverpool and Manchester, and east of Leeds, the terrain along which the road passes is relatively flat. Between Manchester and Leeds it traverses thePennines and its foothills, rising to 1,221 feet (372 m) above sea level slightly east of junction 22 inCalderdale, not far from the boundary betweenGreater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
The motorway's origins are found in the 1930s, when the need for a route betweenLancashire andYorkshire had been agreed after discussion by their county highway authorities.[1] At the same time, it was envisaged that a route between Liverpool and Hull was needed to connect the ports to industrial Yorkshire.[2]
After the Second World War, theMinister of Transport appointed engineers to inspect road standards between theA580 East Lancashire Road inSwinton and theA1 road nearSelby.[2] The 1949 Road Plan for South Lancashire identified the need to upgrade the A580 todual carriageway withgrade separation and provide bypasses atHuyton andCadishead.[3] In 1952, the route for a trans-Pennine motorway, the Lancashire–Yorkshire Motorway, was laid down, withFerrybridge at the eastern terminus rather than Selby.[2] By the 1960s, the proposed A580 upgrade to dual carriageway was considered inadequate, and there was an urgent need to link Liverpool to the motorway network.[3]
The route of the Lancashire-Yorkshire motorway was considered inadequate as it failed to cater for several industrial towns in Yorkshire.[2] When James Drake visited the United States in 1962, his experience of theInterstate Highway System led him to conclude that the Merseyside Expressway, planned to run between Liverpool and theM6, would need to be extended to theStretford-Eccles Bypass and beyond, to create a continuous motorway between Liverpool and Ferrybridge (a link between Ferrybridge and Hull was not considered until 1964).[4] Initially the plans were unpopular and not supported by theMinistry of Transport, but the scheme was added to the Road Plan in 1963.[3]
Formal planning began on Wednesday 12 July 1961, whenErnest Marples authorised the two surveyors of Lancashire and the West Riding – SirJames Drake of Lancashire and Stuart Maynard Lovell of the West Riding, to plan a 50-mile (80 km) motorway from Worsley, in Lancashire, toLedsham (now the Selby Fork) in the West Riding. From either end, the plan was that there would be 'improved roads' from the eastern end, at theSelby Fork, eastwards to Hull, and 'improved roads' from the western end, at Worsley (now theWorsley Braided Interchange), westwards to Liverpool.[5]
It was the intention to build an urban motorway in Liverpool.[6] The M62 was intended to terminate at Liverpool's Inner Motorway, which was not built. The proposed route would have followed the railway into Liverpool as far asEdge Hill, with junctions at Rathbone Road and Durning Road where it would drop to two lanes before terminating at the Islington Radial.[citation needed] Difficulties arose building the Liverpool urban motorway resulting in delays, with the section between Tarbock and Liverpool the last to be completed in 1976. In total, twoviaducts, ten bridges and seven underpasses were constructed to secure the structural integrity of the surrounding residential areas. The motorway was constructed only as far as theQueens Drive inner ring road, which is junction 4.[3]
The section west of Manchester was intended to be a separate motorway, the M52 to link Liverpool and Salford, but a continuous motorway between Leeds and Liverpool was deemed more feasible,[citation needed] Construction between Liverpool and Manchester started in 1971, with the construction of a link between theM57 and M6 motorways.[3] Simultaneously, a contract to link the M6 with Manchester was underway, which required land drainage and the removal of unsuitable earth. This section was completed in August 1974, creating a continuous link between Ferrybridge and Tarbock.
Two motorways were planned, the M52 from Liverpool to Salford and the M62 to link Pole Moor with the Stretford–Eccles Bypass.[citation needed] The first part of the M62 to be built was the Stretford–Eccles Bypass, which is now the section between Junctions 7 to 13 of theM60.[citation needed] Construction started in 1957, and the motorway opened in 1960. It was originally built as a two-lane motorway only. It was later re-numbered M63.[7] The section of the planned M52 between the interchange with the Stretford-Eccles Bypass and Salford opened as theM602 motorway in 1971.
The Eccles–Pole Moor section of the M62 opened in 1971.[citation needed] BetweenEccles and Pole Moor, 67 motorway crossings were required, including seven viaducts and eight junctions.[3] Much of the Worsley Braided Interchange was built on undevelopedmossland where deeppeat deposits had been covered with waste. BetweenWorsley andMilnrow, some underlying coal seams were still actively worked when the motorway was constructed and allowances had to be made to counteract possible future subsidence.[8] The motorway crosses theIrwell Valley and thePendleton Fault[9] on a 200-foot (61 m) single-span bridge 65 feet (20 m) above theriver.[10]
Surveying for the Pennine section began in November 1961 and its route was determined in July 1963.[11] Construction between Windy Hill and Pole Moor was difficult through inhospitable hilly terrain, peat bog, and in undesirable weather conditions. The motorway's highest point, 1,221 feet (372 m) above sea level atWindy Hill nearDenshaw (53°37′47″N2°01′07″W / 53.62982°N 2.018561°W /53.62982; -2.018561 (Windy Hill)) is the highest point of any motorway in England.[12]
A notable structure between junctions 21 and 22 on the uphill section towards Windy Hill is theRakewood Viaduct which carries the road over theLongden End Brook.[13]
The first section of the motorway in Yorkshire was completed between the county boundary at Windy Hill andOutlane in 1970.[14]To build this section, 12,000,000 cubic yards (9,200,000 m3) of material was moved, 8,000,000 cubic yards (6,100,000 m3) of which was solid rock and 650,000 cubic yards (500,000 m3) of peat which had to be cut from therock strata and deposited on adjacent hillsides. The geology of the moors resulted in the engineers splitting the carriageways for3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) in the middle of this section, sparingStott Hall Farm from demolition.[14][15] The farm, which was built in the 18th century, remains the only one situated in the middle of a UK motorway.[16]
.JPG)
The motorway crossesScammonden Dam on an embankment between junctions 22 and 23. Preparatory work in the Deanhead Valley began in August 1964 and the dam in 1966. The motorway's opening on 20 December 1970 was dependent on completion of the dam.[17] Two other notable constructions on the Pennine section are the pedestrian bridge carrying thePennine Way, which is curved downwards with 85-foot (26 m) longcantilevers, andScammonden Bridge, the longest single-span non-suspension bridge in the world when it was built.[14][18] It carries aB road 120 feet (37 m) above the motorway.[14] The 1-mile (1.6 km) section between Pole Moor and Outlane suffered fewer problems as the summer weather was satisfactory.[19]
The section of the motorway betweenGildersome andLofthouse was built at the same time, resulting in the demolition of a significant proportion of the village ofTingley to build the eponymous interchange.[citation needed]
Lofthouse Interchange was built between 1965 and 1967.Owen Williams and theBabtie Group were the engineers. Located where the M62 crosses above theM1 motorway, it is a complex three-level junction with eight bridges including a roundabout supported by four long curved bridges on 12-metre (39 ft)piers above both motorways. The roundabout's north and south bridges have spans of 28 m (92 ft) and the east and west have spans of 21 m (69 ft). The M62 overbridge has areinforced concrete multi-cellular deck of four spans. Two other pre-stressed reinforced concrete bridges carry slip roads over Longthorpe Lane, the B6135. Another bridge with no motorway access carries Longthorpe Lane over the M1.[20]
Two skew tunnels were constructed beneath the original junction between 1996 and 1999. The tunnels, constructed using thecut-and-cover method, are for traffic travelling between the M1 south-bound and the M62 west. The tunnel under the M62 is 147 m (482 ft) in length.[20]
Two contracts were awarded for the section between Lofthouse and Ferrybridge in 1972, and both were completed in 1974.[21][22] On the first contract, care was needed at theRiver Calder crossing due to thealluvial bedrock. On the second contract precautions were taken as the length was built on oldcoal mine workings.
The section between Ferrybridge andNorth Cave was the last to be planned[4] and built.[citation needed] TheOuse Bridge, across theRiver Ouse west ofGoole, commenced in January 1973 and is nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long and rises to 98.4 feet (30.0 m) above ground level. Completion of the bridge was delayed due to "steel supplies [being] a chronic headache" and a partial collapse of the framework caused by bolts joining a cross-beam to a trestle shearing.[4] Problems with the bridge delayed the opening of the section east of Goole to May 1976.[4]
_and_M62_interchange.jpg)
In 1987 the Department of Transport proposed a parallel relief road to combat congestion around Manchester. It would have been restricted to long-distance traffic, and the current route, part of the Manchester Outer Ring Road (later the M60), used for local traffic. The proposal suggested the closure of junction 13. The proposal was designated a "long term" improvement in 1994, and cancelled on 23 November 1995.[citation needed]
In 1998 the section between Eccles Interchange andSimister Island (junctions 12 to 18) was designated the M60.[citation needed] Since then, two junctions were opened—in December 2002, the missing junction 8 was opened to allow access to theA574 and theOmega Development Site,[23] while in January 2006, junction 32a was opened to link to the upgradedA1(M).[24] The UK's first motorwayhigh-occupancy vehicle lane was opened at junction 26 in 2008 for eastbound traffic from theM606 with more than one occupant.[25]
Pre-2009 proposals to widen the motorway between junctions 25 and 28 to four lanes were withdrawn in January 2009 and replaced by a project to install hard shoulder running and asmart motorway system between junctions 25 and 30.[26] Work started in 2014 to install the system around the M62 – M60 section.[27]
In December 1973 a service area atHensall, North Yorkshire was proposed, to be 40 acres. There would be a transport cafe, with a separate cafeteria on each side. It would cost £700,000.[28] A similar motorway service station was proposed at Abbey Barn, south ofHigh Wycombe on theM40, around the same time, and which likewise was neither built.[29]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2015) |
The section between junctions 18 (with the M60) and 29 (with the M1) through Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire has been identified as one of the mostcongested roads in Britain.[30][31] The motorway provides a direct link between three of the five largest metro areas in England, and is the most practical route for HGVs and other commercial traffic between Manchester and Leeds. There are a significant number of warehouses in these urban areas, which require commercial delivery to the ports atMerseyside and around theHumber, all of which are transported via the M62.[30]
Annual average daily traffic flows of 100,000 cars were recorded east of the Pennines (junction 22) in 2006 and 78,000 cars west of the Pennines.[32] The figures were increases from 90,000 and 70,000 respectively in 1999.[33] By way of comparison, the UK's busiest motorway, theM25 carried 144,000 cars between junctions 7 and 23 in 2006.[32]
On 4 February 1974,a bomb was detonated on a coach travelling between Chain Bar (junction 26) and Gildersome (junction 27). The coach was transporting off-dutyarmy personnel and their family members. Twelve people were killed and 38 were injured.Hartshead Moor services was used as a makeshift hospital and base for investigations.[34] TheProvisional Irish Republican Army was deemed responsible.[34][35] A memorial to the victims was erected at Hartshead Moor services in 2009.[36]
TheSelby rail crash happened on 28 February 2001, at 06:13 after Gary Hart, asleep-deprived driver, swerved off the M62 onto theEast Coast Main Line nearSelby. While he was calling theemergency services, aGNER southbound train collided with hisLand Rover and derailed into the path of an oncomingfreight train. Ten people were killed, including the drivers of both trains, and 82 others were injured.[37] Hart was later convicted of ten counts ofcausing death by dangerous driving, and was sentenced to five years in prison.[38]
On 1 March 2018, aHighways England car fire in severe weather conditions (the beast from the East) caused up to 3,500 vehicles to become trapped on the eastbound Pennine section between junctions 20 and 24. Up to 200 people spent the night in their vehicles. The military,mountain rescue, fire services and Highways England worked alongside the police through the night to ensure people's safety. Members of the public who lived in Milnrow and Newhey climbed up onto the motorway with food and drinks for the trapped people in their cars and trucks.[39] A barrier between the carriageways was removed to facilitate moving most of the vehicles. The road remained closed the next day due to the weather conditions.[40][41]
In addition to passingWarrington, Manchester, Huddersfield,Halifax, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield, the towns ofHuyton,St Helens,Widnes,Bury,Rochdale,Oldham,Pontefract, Selby and Goole are designatedprimary destinations along the road. Many of the professional and semi-professional teams playingrugby league in England are connected by the M62 motorway and so the termM62 corridor is sometimes used to refer to the area where rugby league is most popular.[42] The motorway was depicted in aBBCtrailer for the2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.[43]
The M62 is a terminus to two motorways: theM57 nearPrescot and theM18 nearRawcliffe; and has four spur routes: theM602, which serves Manchester, theA627(M), which serves Oldham and Rochdale, theM606, which serves Bradford, and theM621, which serves Leeds.
Despite Hull being listed as a primary destination,[44] the motorway downgrades near North Cave, 16 miles (26 km) to the west.[45]
The western end of the motorway is at Queen's Drive, on Liverpool's middle ring road from where it runs eastward to the outer ring road, the M57. The route has four exits for Warrington: junction 7, an interchange with theA57 road, junction 8, which also housesIKEA, junction 9, which interchanges with theA49 road, which was intended to be a motorway, and junction 11. Between these is junction 10, which is acloverstack interchange with the M6. The M62 crossesChat Moss before interchanging with theM60 motorway. Owing to the original plan to extend this section of the motorway into Manchester, motorists must turn off to stay on (aTOTSO) the route into Yorkshire.
In Greater Manchester, the motorway shares seven junctions, 12 to 18, with the M60 motorway. Junction 13, signpostedLeigh, is situated1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) from junction 12, leaving exiting motorists the hazard of crossing the still-merging M62 traffic.[citation needed]Worsley Braided Interchange serves Junctions 14 and 15 and Junctions 1 to 3 of theM61 which terminates toPreston.
Between junction 21 and junction 22, the motorway has four lanes eastbound to climb Windy Hill,[46] before crossing the border into Yorkshire and interchanging with the rural A672 road, reaching the highest point of any motorway in England 1,221 feet (372 m).[12] There is then a 7-mile (11 km) travel through the Pennines to the next junction, passing Scammonden Reservoir and Stott Hall Farm. The next junction is 23, which is accessible only 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 ofCalderdale andKirklees.[47]
At junction 26, Chain Bar, the motorway interchanges with several roads: the M606, a spur into Bradford, theA58 road, which runs betweenPrescot andWetherby, and theA638 road, which runs toDoncaster, then follows the old route of the A1 throughBawtry andRetford, toMarkham Moor where it rejoins the A1. 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 theRiver Calder. At junction 32a, the road is crossed by theA1(M) motorway, which also runs parallel to it for a short distance. The next junction 33 serves the A162 and A1 roads, and Ferrybridge service station. After Ferrybridge, the motorway becomes relatively flat. At junction 35, the motorway meets with the northern terminus of the M18 at a triangle (semi-directioinal-T) interchange. Soon after, there is a 1-mile (1.6 km) bridge that crosses theRiver Ouse. For approximately 10 miles (16 km) after this, the road runs towards Hull, servingHowden and North Cave, before downgrading to theA63 road.
Data fromdriver location signs is used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.[48][49]
Notes
CEC (1987) estimated that the capital cost of the motorway was "of the order of £412 million at 1985 prices
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