A57(M) motorway

UK motorway routebox
motorway= A57(M)
length-mi= 2
length-km= 3.2
direction= East - West
start= Hulme
destinations= Manchester
end= Ardwick
opening-date= 1967 original motorway
completion-date= 1992 additional slip roads
junctions= n/a
other name= Mancunian WayThe A57(M), also known as the Mancunian Way, is a 2-mile (3.2-kilometre) long motorway in Manchester, England. It is part of the A57, which runs east-west through Greater Manchester, and links the M602 and M67 motorways.

Route

The road forms a major part of the Manchester-Salford Inner Ring Road and runs south of the city centre. Running eastbound, it starts as a 2 lane dual carrigeway and passes underneath the A56. Following this, the road widens to 3 lanes. At the next junction which leads to the A5103, the road reduces to 2 lanes and becomes an elevated highway. This section runs atop link roads and two roundabouts before reaching the next junction with the A34. At this point the road passes through the centre of the campuses of UMIST (now part of the University of Manchester) and Manchester Metropolitan University. It then runs for around 3/4 mile before reaching its junction with the A6 which it crosses on a bridge before dropping down to ground level. It then finishes on the A635 and continues east bound and also continues to be called the Mancunian Way.

History

It was opened in 1967 as the A57, only being upgraded to motorway in the 1970s [ [http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/manchester/manchester.html Rural Roads Old Maps Page] - This page shows a selection of maps that show the road as A class when opened and later on as a motorway.] . At the time of its opening the Manchester Evening News referred to it as the "highway in the sky" [ [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/049_mancunianway/index.html Manchester Evening News, Manchester Online] - Eyewitness in Manchester Newsletter] .

In 1992 the westbound junction was rebuilt to replace a temporary flyover arrangement, whereby the A56 passed over a roundabout where the A57(M) ended. At the same time a new flyover was built over the A6.

Trivia

*Just before the junction with the A34 is an unfinished slip road (stub) that ends in mid-air, although it is hidden from the road by an advertising billboard. This was intended to be part of a dual carriageway into the city centre, [ [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/049_mancunianway/15.html Manchester Evening News, Manchester Online] - Eyewitness in Manchester Newsletter Photo & Description] but was abandoned when it was realised that the ramp would send traffic the wrong way down a one-way street.Fact|date=February 2007

*The last half a mile of the Mancunian Way in the east is part of the A635, the A57 heading south east from the same junction as the A6, though it clearly states A57(M) on the signage as you enter westbound. However, Department for Transport documentation states differently [ [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19953266_en_1.htm Statutory Instrument 1995 No. 3266] ] .

*The road is referenced in the BBC television drama "Life On Mars". The central character, Sam Tyler, is knocked down by a car and "awakens" in 1973. The accident occurs by the Mancunian Way, and when he awakens, he does so on wasteland, with a nearby billboard advertising the planned "Highway in the Sky". Of course, the road was long completed by 1973.

*The 2006 Take That album Beautiful World includes a track entitled Mancunian Way, which concerns the subject of Manchester generally.

Junctions

:"Note: motorway has no junction numbers"

See also

*List of motorways in the United Kingdom

References

External links

* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/a57m/ CBRD Motorway Database - A57(M)]
* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/media/video/mcr.shtml CBRD Videos M602 / A57(M)]
* [http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/001ewm/049_mancunianway/index.html Manchester Evening News, Manchester Online - Eyewitness in Manchester Newsletter, including pictures]
* [http://www.pathetic.org.uk/current/a57m/ Pathetic Motorways - A57(M)]
* [http://www.iht.org/motorway/a57mancunian.htm The Motorway Archive - A57(M)]