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Factfile - Images - Timeline - Exit List

Location map The M61 is there to connect Manchester to Scotland and the north-west by zooming up to the M6 - without it the M6/M62 junction would be very messy and the A6 at Chorley would be something of a headache.

Its southern terminus and starting point, the Worsley Braided Interchange on the M60, is a contender for the most overdesigned junction in the country: it's a bit Heath Robinson to say the least. It even takes up the first three junction numbers on the M61.

After leaving the Worsley Braided Interchange, the M61 seems to have used up all its excitement quota and becomes exceptionally boring. The landscape is hilly and quite industrial in a very tedious way, and the road itself looks very old and worn out. At Preston, the northern terminus is something of a disappointment after the excitement of Worsley.

The missing junction 7 was is something of a mystery. Considering there are no less than two places on the motorway's route that space was left for an extended M58 to connect in, the missing junction is too far north, and was probably intended for an improved access to Chorley and Leyland. Further south you can see a very wide underpass and flared carriageways at the southern arm of the A58's interchange.

Factfile

Start	Manchester (M60)
Finish	Preston (M6)
Passes	Bolton
Length	21 miles
Terminates	None
Spurs	None
Meets	M65

Images

Views of the M61 from on and off the road. If you have a photo to contribute, contact me.

An example of the various overpasses at Worsley Braided Interchange (here, the sliproad south towards the A580) that cross the motorway at oblique angles. Today we would simply build a long bridge with offset piers to fit the carriageway below, but in the late 60s the answer was a lengthy fake tunnel (or gallery). Most of the space on top of this structure is empty.
Photo by Steven Jukes

Construction Timeline

When the various parts of the M61 were built, listed in chronological order.

Open	Jct	Section
1969	J4-M6	Horwich - Preston
1970	M60-J4	Worsley - Horwich

Exit List

All the junctions and destinations along the route.

Junction	Southbound				Northbound
1	Ring Road Oldham, Rochdale M60 Leeds (M62 )	M60	SOUTH	M60	N/A

	Ring Road Salford, Sale M60 Manchester (M56 )
	1 mile, 4 lanes				1 mile, 4 lanes
2	Manchester (Cen) A580			(A580)	Bolton (A666)
	1 mile, 3+3 lanes				3+3 lanes
3	Bolton (A666)	(A666)
	3 miles, 3 lanes				4 miles, 3 lanes
4	Atherton Walkden Farnworth (A6)			(A6)	Atherton Walkden Farnworth (A6)
	2 miles, 3 lanes				2 miles, 3 lanes
5	Westhoughton Hindley Deane A58	A58		A58	Westhoughton Hindley Wigan A58
	3 miles, 3 lanes				3 miles, 3 lanes
6	Bolton (W) Horwich (A673)	(A673)		(A6)	Horwich (A673) Chorley (A6)
	2 miles, 3 lanes				2 miles, 3 lanes
	Bolton West				Bolton West
	6 miles, 3 lanes				6 miles, 3 lanes
8	Chorley A674 (A6)	A674		A674 (A6)	Chorley Whittle-le-Woods A674 (A6)
	4 miles, 3 lanes				4 miles, 3 lanes
9	Blackburn Burnley Preston (S) M65	M65		M65 (M6)	Blackburn Burnley Preston (S) M65
	1 mile, 2 lanes				1 mile, 2 lanes
(M6 J30)	N/A	M6	NORTH	M6	The NORTH Lancaster M6