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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by | ||||
| Length | 71.46 mi (115.00 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  A5268Chester | |||
| Major intersections |  A41 M53 M56 A50 M60 A57(M) A58 M66 M65 | |||
| East end |  A59Broughton | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Runcorn Warrington Altrincham Manchester Bury Burnley | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheA56 is a road inEngland which extends between the city ofChester inCheshire and the village ofBroughton inNorth Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single anddual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the denseurban sprawl of inner cityManchester and the lightly populated region of rural eastLancashire. The road includes a short section oftrunk road between the end of theM66 motorway nearRamsbottom and theM65 motorway west ofBurnley.
The road begins as Frodsham Street in the centre ofChester at its junction with Foregate StreetA51 and heads north-eastwards out of the city. Just outside the city, the A56 crosses Junction 12 of theM53 motorway, continuing in a north easterly direction. The road passes through the towns and villages ofMickle Trafford,Dunham on the Hill,Helsby andFrodsham whilst roughly paralleling the course of the south side of theM56 motorway. After leavingFrodsham, the A56 crosses theM56 at Junction 11 and passes the towns ofRuncorn andWarrington, taking up a more easterly direction to again parallel the course of the north side of the motorway.
The road crosses theM6 motorway halfway between Junctions 20 and 21, before passing south ofLymm on its way to its junction with theA556 road atBowdon. At Bowdon the A56 turns sharply northwards, passingAltrincham andSale, crossing theM60 Manchester Outer Ring Road at Junction 7 intoStretford.
The A56 takes the name of Chester Road and continues north-eastwards throughStretford andHulme into Manchester city centre, where it takes on the nameDeansgate, one of Manchester's main shopping streets and thoroughfares. At the end of Deansgate, the A56 takes on the name of Victoria Street as it passesManchester Victoria railway station. Since 2012, most of Victoria Street has been pedestrianised with planters, but the road markings still remain underneath.
Turning sharply to the north-west, the A56 leaves Manchester and goes through theBroughton district ofSalford on its way toPrestwich, where it is called Bury New Road, where it again crosses theM60 Manchester Outer Ring Road at Junction 17. Heading due north the road passesWhitefield and cuts throughBury before crossing theM66 motorway at Junction 1. The road follows the M66 up to its terminus nearEdenfield.
The A56 becomes dual carriageway, and traffic from the M66 can continue onto thistrunk road section only. Traffic from the A680 and the A676 can also join the A56. Again heading roughly due northwards the A56 bypassesHaslingden andAccrington before joining theM65 motorway at Junction 8, slightly to the west ofBurnley.
After joining the M65, the A56 disappears from the maps, only to reappear approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north east close to M65 Junction 13 at a junction with theA682 in centralNelson.
Taking an easterly direction, the A56 goes throughColne before turning sharply to the north. Now cutting through the more rural parts of eastLancashire the road passesFoulridge andEarby, finally reaching its termination point where it merges with theA59 road to the west ofBroughton inNorth Yorkshire. Heading north of Colne, the A56 is signed towardsSkipton.
Prior to the construction of the M65, M66 and connecting roads, the route continued through Edenfield and intoRawtenstall. The route then passed through the centre of Burnley and on to Nelson, this section is now marked as an extension of the A682.[1]
Roads in Zone 5 of theGreat Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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