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Motorway Database

You are here: Home - Motorway Database - A601(M)

Factfile - Images - Timeline - Exit List

The A601(M) itself is of interest for a number of reasons. Historically, it was once the northern terminus of the M6 Lancaster bypass, which ended at the roundabout with the A6 at the top end of what is now the A601(M). When the M6 was extended it branched off, leaving its old top end as a spur. For a long time this stayed as a simple motorway spur from the M6 to the A6.

However - and here we come to the second point of interest - traffic from a quarry at Over Kellet, just south-east of the point where the spur road met the M6, was having to drive through Carnforth to get to the motorway. In the 1990s, the spur was extended in the other direction by about two hundred yards to connect with the B6254. The extension - despite being under motorway restrictions and signposted as a motorway - is a single carriageway road, with one lane in each direction.

For the third point of interest, the spur, which now extended in both directions from the M6, was granted a number of its own: A601(M). This causes a problem. "A601(M)" suggests this is part of the A601 which is subject to motorway restrictions. For a long time it seemed there was no A601 - which would be strange in itself. But eventually, Richard Bullock spotted it. It's part of the Derby Inner Ring Road - that's more than a hundred miles away! Something went wrong here...

It's hard to excuse the numbering anomaly when the rest of the road is so laughable too. Its southern section is single carriageway, and its junction with the M6 is a roundabout. Its southern 'interchange' is a Give Way sign on the B6254 - it is, in fact, the only motorway to terminate on a B-road. A very silly road indeed.

Factfile

Start	Over Kellet (B6254)
Finish	Carnforth (A6)
Passes	None
Length	1 mile
Terminates	None
Spurs	None
Meets	M6

Images

Views of the A601(M) from on and off the road. If you have a photo to contribute, contact me.

Construction Timeline

When the various parts of the A601(M) were built, listed in chronological order.

Open	Section
1960	M6-A6 Link
1987	Over Kellet Link

Exit List

All the junctions and destinations along the route.

Junction		Westbound								Eastbound
35A		Carnforth A6		A6		WEST		A6		N/A
		Kendal A6
		1 mile, 2 lanes								1 mile, 2 lanes
(M6 J35)		The SOUTH Preston M6		M6				M6		The NORTH WEST Carlisle M6
		The NORTH WEST Carlisle M6								The SOUTH Preston M6
		0.1 miles, 1 lane								0.1 miles, 1 lane
		N/A		B6254		EAST		B6254		Over Kellet B6254
										Carnforth B6254

With thanks to Chris McKenna for information on this page.