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 M55 highlighted in blueShow interactive map  Shown with North West England motorway network Show North West England motorways map _map.svg) Shown with UK motorway network Show UK motorways map | ||||
 Looking east from Junction 4 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNational Highways | ||||
| Length | 12.2 mi (19.6 km) | |||
| Existed | 1958–present | |||
| History |
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| Major junctions | ||||
| East end | Fulwood | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| West end | Blackpool | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | Lancashire | |||
| Primary destinations | ||||
| Road network | ||||
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TheM55 is amotorway inLancashire, England, which can also be referred to as thePreston Northern Bypass. It connects theseaside resort ofBlackpool to theM6 atPreston. It is 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in length.
One mile (1.6 km) was originally built in 1958 as part of the UK's first motorway, thePreston Bypass, and the remainder was built in 1975.
The M55 has three lanes in both directions for most of its length. After leaving theM6 at junction 32, the road immediately interchanges with theA6 and then crosses theWest Coast Main Line. It meets theA582 extension, built in 2023, at junction 2, then crosses theLancaster Canal before passing north ofWesham to meet theA585 at junction 3. It then continues west in a rural setting to meetA583 at junction 4, where the motorway ends and becomes theA5230. The western part of the M55, and the first few hundred metres of the A5230, occupy the route of the oldBlackpool Branch railway line.
The first motorway constructed in Great Britain was the M6 Preston Bypass, opened in 1958. This ran from the current M6 junction 29 to the M55 junction 1. It was built as a two-lane route. In 1965 the M6 was extended north from what is the current day junction 32 to meet the Lancaster Bypass,[1][failed verification] and the M6 junction was rebuilt to its current design to connect the A6 at the now M55 junction 1.[2] Due to increasing traffic, it was decided to provide a motorway link to Blackpool and this road was opened in 1975.
Some of the material for backfilling the new M55 was obtained from a nearby disused airfield atRNAS Inskip,[citation needed] where the runways were broken up and the land returned to agriculture. More material came from the Tootle Heights quarries inLongridge.[citation needed]
Until 2023, the motorway had no junction 2.[3] A proposed South Ribble link road would have involved the extension of theM65 motorway around the west of Preston to link to the M55 at the missing junction. The link road proposal has been dormant since the mid-1990s. Between 1993 and 1995, the M6 around the east of Preston was widened to four lanes, making the link road proposal less likely.
As part of aCity Deal signed betweenPreston City Council and central Government in late 2013, bothLancashire County Council and Preston City Council agreed in principle to build a 'Preston Western Distributor Road' which would link the A583/A584 outsideClifton to a new junction 2 of the M55.[4][5]
Construction of the new road began in September 2019 and involved a new motorway junction, four new bridges and two viaducts. The £200 million scheme was completed in July 2023 and was namedEdith Rigby Way.[6]Moto Hospitality submitted plans toPreston City Council in December 2024 to build a services station off junction 2.[7]
In April 1975, during work to extend the motorway, a test was conducted, by test pilot Tim Ferguson, using aJaguar military jet aircraft from nearbyWarton Aerodrome to prove the viability of using the road as a makeshift runway in time of war. The demonstration was not publicised, in the interests of public safety, but many spectators crossed the fields and gathered on the banks at the side of the motorway to watch.[2][8][9]
The entire route is in the ceremonial county ofLancashire.
| Location | mi | km | Junction | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston | 0 | 0 | M6 J32[coord 1] |  M6 –Manchester,Liverpool,Lancaster | Opened 1965 |
| 1.0 | 1.6 | 1[coord 2] |  A6 –Preston (N),Garstang | Opened 1958, rebuilt 1975 | |
| 3.4 | 5.5 | 2[coord 3] |  A582 –Preston (S & W) | Opened 2023 | |
| Wesham | 8.1 | 13.1 | 3[coord 4] |  A585 –Kirkham,Fleetwood | Opened 1975 |
| Blackpool | 12.2 | 19.6 | 4[coord 5] |  A583 –Kirkham,Blackpool | Opened 1975 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
Junctions 3 and 4 are visual reporting points (VRPs) forgeneral aviation aircraft in the surroundingBlackpool Airport airspace.[10]
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