M66 motorway

The M66 motorway, also known as the Bury Easterly Bypass, runs for 13 kilometres through Lancashire and Greater Manchester. It links the M62 and M60 motorways to the M65, replacing an older route around Manchester that became part of the M60 in 1998. The road begins at Simister Island, where the M60 and M62 meet, and heads north as a three-lane dual carriageway. It passes near Whitefield and crosses under the East Lancashire Railway before entering Bury. The motorway narrows to two lanes at junction 2 and then rises onto an elevated section above a post-war housing estate. The M66 was first proposed in 1949 as part of a plan to connect Manchester with Burnley and Blackburn. Construction started in the early 1970s, with the Middleton Link opening in 1971 and the southern Bury bypass completed in 1975. The northern section followed in 1978, and the final link near Edenfield opened in 2000. Originally, the motorway was intended to extend south to Stockport, but this plan was abandoned when sections were redesignated as part of the M60. Today, the M66 provides a direct route between major motorways, avoiding the centre of Manchester. It passes close to Ramsbottom and runs alongside the East Lancashire Railway. The road climbs onto an elevated section before descending near Edenfield, where it continues as the A56 dual carriageway. The motorway’s route reflects its history as both a bypass and a strategic link in Lancashire’s road network.