M66
M66 highlighted in blue Show interactive map Shown with North West England motorway network Show North West England motorways map
Looking northwest at junction 1, 2006
Route information
Maintained byNational Highways
Length	8.0 mi (12.9 km)
Existed	1975–present
History	Constructed 1975–78
Major junctions
North end	Edenfield
Major intersections	J4 →M60 motorway /M62 motorway
South end	Simister Island
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Manchester,Burnley,Bury
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
←M65 →M67

TheM66, also known as theBury Easterly Bypass, is amotorway inLancashire andGreater Manchester, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) long and provides part of the route between theM62 andM60 motorways and theM65, with the rest being provided by theA56.

Historically the motorway used to continue southward around the east side of Manchester, but in 1998 this section was renumbered and became part of theM60 Manchester orbital motorway.

The M66 starts atSimister Island, a junction with the M60 and M62, and heads north as a continuation of the M60 as a three-lanedual carriageway. It passes the eastern edge ofWhitefield, through junction 3, goes underneath theEast Lancashire Railway and enters thesuburbs ofBury. It reduces to two lanes at junction 2 and then climbs onto an elevated section, passing through a post war housing estate.^[1] At the end of the elevated road, a thirdclimbing lane is added to thesummit of the hill. The road then runs to the east ofRamsbottom and the East Lancashire Railway and ends nearEdenfield, where the road continues as the A56 dual carriageway.

In 1949 a report, theRoad Plan for Lancashire, proposed the construction ofRoute 9 which would link north east Manchester withBurnley andBlackburn viaRoute 8.^[2] Originally planned to be anall purpose road. the route was redesignated as a motorway prior to construction.^[1] The first section (the so-calledMiddleton Link) was opened in 1971.^[3] On the Department for Transport's 2002 Roads List this link is listed as the M68. Construction then began on the southern section of the Bury bypass (junctions 4 to 3) in February 1973 with this opening in August 1975. Immediately after construction began on the northern section (junctions 3 to terminus) with this opening in 1978.^[4]

The motorway was planned to run down to Stockport where it would meet theM63 and the proposedA6(M) motorway.^[5] The first part of this built was the section from theM67 to the M63 (now junctions 24 to 27 of the M60) with construction beginning in 1986 and it opening to traffic in 1989.^[6]

The final section of the motorway was to be between the M67 and the Middleton Link. Construction began on this in 1995. In 1998 it was decided to rename various sections of motorway (parts of the M62 and M66 and the whole of the M63) around Manchester to theM60 to form the "Manchester Outer Ring Road". All sections of the M66 south of the M62 were therefore redesignated as the M60. This final section subsequently opened in 2000.

North of the M66, the road was built as the A56, an all purposeA road which connects with the M65 at junction 8.

Eachmotorway in England requires that astatutory instrument be published, detailing the route of the road, before it can be built. The dates given on these statutory instruments relate to when the document was published, and not when the road was built. Provided below is an incomplete list of statutory instruments relating to the route of the M66.

M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1973
Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 1973/1142

M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) (Junction 2 Southbound Off-Slip) (Detrunking) Order 1996
Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 1996/2158
Dates
Made	16 August 1996
Commencement	13 September 1996
Other legislation
Made under	Highways Act 1980
Text of the The M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) And Connecting Roads Scheme 1973 (Variation) Scheme 1996 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk.

M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1973 (Variation) Scheme 1996
Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 1996/2159
Dates
Made	16 August 1996
Commencement	13 September 1996
Other legislation
Made under	Highways Act 1980
Text of the The M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) And Connecting Roads Scheme 1973 (Variation) Scheme 1996 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk.

• M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1973 (SI 1973/1142)
• M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) (Junction 2 Southbound Off-Slip) (Detrunking) Order 1996 (SI 1996/2158)
• M66 Motorway (Bury Easterly Bypass Northern Section) and Connecting Roads Scheme 1973 (Variation) Scheme 1996 (SI 1996/2159)

County	Location	mi	km	Junction	Destinations	Notes
Lancashire	Edenfield	0	0	—[coord 1]	A56  -Edenfield	Road continues from A56
Greater Manchester	—	2.2	3.6	1[coord 2]	A56  -Walmersley,Bury	No Southbound exit or Northbound entrance
	Bury	5.5	8.8	2[coord 3]	A58  -Bury,Heywood,Rochdale
		6.4	10.2	3[coord 4]	Unsworth,Heywood
	—	8.4	13.6	4[coord 5]	M60  -Eccles,Stockport,Ashton under Lyne M62  -Leeds,Hull
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

*Ceremonial Counties

Coordinate list

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom
• M60 motorway

• Lancashire County Council Historic Highways – Road Plan for Lancashire 1949
• The Motorway Archive – M66

• Motorways in England
• Roads in Greater Manchester
• Metropolitan Borough of Bury

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