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M56
North Cheshire Motorway
Looking east from Junction 14
Route information
Part of
Maintained by Highways England
Length	33.3 mi (53.6 km)
Existed	1971–present
History	Opened: 1971 Completed: 1981
Major junctions
East end	Cheadle
	J1 → M60 motorway J9 → M6 motorway J15 → M53 motorway
West end	Mollington
Location
Counties	Greater Manchester, Cheshire
Primary destinations	Manchester Manchester Airport Warrington Runcorn Ellesmere Port
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones ← M55 M57 →

The M56 motorway, also known as the North Cheshire motorway, is in Cheshire and Greater Manchester, England. It runs from Junction 4 of the M60 to Dunkirk, near Chester. With a length of 33.3 miles (53.6 km), it is often busy with long-distance commuter traffic towards North Wales. It serves commuters heading to Manchester, particularly those from the wider Cheshire area, and gives access to Manchester Airport from the national motorway network.^[1]

The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroute E22.

Route

Although the main line of the motorway starts as a continuation of the A5103 Princess Parkway, the M56 begins on Sharston Spur (also known as the Sharston Bypass) where it detaches from the M60 motorway. After passing through junctions 1 and 2, the spur joins the main line at junction 3, increasing from two lanes to four to accommodate Manchester Airport traffic.

The road then heads south to the west of Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport until it reaches junction 6, where it turns west. It runs to the south of Hale, reducing to three lanes. It passes junctions 7 and 8 which are part of the same complex. Junction 8 was planned to be used by the proposed A556(M)^[2]. Current proposals are to upgrade the A556 to a dual carriageway.^[3] Traffic for the southbound M6 leaves here and so the junction can suffer from congestion. The motorway then enters a more rural setting between Broomedge and High Legh.

After meeting the M6 motorway, it passes south of Appleton Thorn. After reaching junction 11, it runs through the outskirts of Runcorn and Frodsham. Between junctions 12 and 14, and the missing junction 13, it runs parallel to the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. After meeting the M53 motorway, the road finally returns to two lanes, it proceeds between Chester to the south and Ellesmere Port to its termination at Dunkirk, Cheshire, where it becomes the A494.

Traffic for North Wales can take either the M53 or the A494 to reach the A55.

The motorway services on the M56 are Chester (Run by Roadchef) and Lymm (Run by Moto, also accessible from M6)

History

The first proposal for a road along this route was agreed in 1958 and it entered the Trunk Road Programme for 1967/1968.^[4] Construction began in 1968^[5] and the motorway opened in stages between 1971 and 1981:^[6]

• Junctions 1 to 3 opened in 1971.


• Junctions 3 to 7 opened in 1972.


• Junctions 7 to 9 opened in 1974.


• Junctions 9 to 11 opened in 1975.


• Junctions 11 to 14 opened in 1971.


• Junctions 14 to 16 opened in 1981.

Proposals existed for an extension into North Wales across the proposed Dee Barrage,^[7] but these have not happened.^[8]

Until 2008 the M56 terminated at a roundabout at the west end. Work started in 2006^[9] to grade-separate this junction (and others) to allow free-flowing traffic to North Wales. The project was completed in 2008.

Junctions

Data^[10]
from driver location signs are used to provide distance information.

M56 motorway junctions
mile	km	Eastbound exits (B Carriageway)	Junction	Westbound exits (A Carriageway)
		Motorway merges onto M60 continuing towards Stockport	M60 J4	Start of motorway (Sharston Spur)
		Manchester City Centre, Didsbury A34	J1	No access (on-slip only)
		No access (on-slip only)	J2	Altrincham, Wythenshawe A560, Liverpool (M62), Bolton (M61) (M60)
		End of motorway Road continues as A5103 towards Manchester	J3A	Sharston, Altrincham, Baguley A560
		Altrincham, Wythenshawe, Wythenshawe , Cheadle A560		Start of motorway (Princess Parkway Spur)
		Manchester City Centre, (M60(N&W)), (M62(W)), (M61) (A5103)	J3 (TOTSO EB)	No access (on-slip only)
7.2	11.6	No access (on-slip only)	J4	Wythenshawe
		End of motorway Wilmslow, Wythenshawe A555 (B5166), Business Park, Terminal 3 Terminal 1,		Start of motorway (Airport Spur)
		Terminal 2		No access (on-slip only)
7.8	12.6	Manchester	J5	Manchester , Quarry Bank Mill
8.9	14.3	Hale, Wilmslow, Macclesfield A538	J6	Wilmslow, Hale, Macclesfield, Manchester Airport Freight Terminal A538
		Entering Greater Manchester		River Bollin
		River Bollin		Entering Cheshire
12.4	19.9	Northwich A556, Altrincham A56	J7	Birmingham (M6(S)), Northwich A556, Lymm A56
		No access	J8	No access (on-slip only)
17.6	28.3	Preston, Birmingham M6, Leeds, Manchester (N) (M62), Lymm (A50) Lymm Truck Stop	J9 Services	Preston M6, Liverpool (M62), Warrington, Lymm (A50) Lymm Truck Stop
20.8	33.4	Warrington, Northwich A49	J10	Northwich, Warrington A49
23.8	38.3	Runcorn (East), Warrington A56	J11	Preston Brook, Daresbury A56
		A533	J11A	A533
26.8	43.1	Liverpool , Runcorn, Widnes A557	J12	Liverpool , Frodsham, Runcorn, Widnes A557
		Weaver Viaduct
31.9	51.4	Stanlow, Helsby A5117 Chester services	J14 Services	Helsby, Stanlow, Chester Zoo A5117 Chester services
34.5	55.6	No access (on-slip only)	J15	Chester, Wrexham M53
		No access (on-slip only)		Ellesmere Port, Birkenhead M53
		Start of motorway	J16	End of motorway Road continues as A494 towards North Wales
		Ellesmere Port A5117, Whitchurch (A41) Non-motorway traffic		Hoylake, Chester A540, Birkenhead (A550)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Unopened

|}

Junction 7 slip closures

At junction 7 in July 2009, the slip road letting traffic come in southbound along the M56 and turn onto the A556 southbound was closed while the bridge where it crosses the M56 (the Bowdon View Bridge), which for many years had had a weight restriction, was worked on; traffic intending to use it had to carry on to junction 10 and there turn round, or go through the centre of Altrincham; traffic for the nearby Tatton Park Flower Show, and the resulting closure to through traffic of the minor road along the southwest edge of Tatton Park from Ashley, Cheshire to Mere, Cheshire (which would otherwise have acted as a bypass for people living in the area), added to the resulting congestion.

In October and November 2010, the bridge was demolished and replaced.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Thorley Lane bridge replacement

On Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March 2015, the new concrete girders of the Thorley Lane bridge a little north of Manchester Airport were put in. (The old bridge was demolished because it was found to be cracking.) The M56 was closed over that weekend for this. This caused much traffic congestion from M56 traffic diverted through Altrincham and Wythenshawe and along Styal Road and Kingsway, starting on Thursday 26 March because of work putting cones on the carriageway.

Traffic counts

^[15]

Section	Capacity	AADT (2016)	AADT (2017)	Data
J1-J2	D2 (65,000)[16]	93,185	109,037	6046, 73773
J2-J3		69,287	71,224	36045
J3-J3A (Princess Parkway Spur)	D3 (97,000)[16]	95,310
J3-J4	D4 (130,000)[16]	164,320
J4-J5		146,415
Airport Spur	D2 (65,000)[16]	55,470
J5-J6	D4 (130,000)[16]	131,478
J6-J7/8	D3 (97,000)[16]	109,830
J7/8-J9		83,512
J9-J10		118,553
J10-J11		125,832
J11-J12		100,518
J12-J14		120,243
J14-J15		109,465
J15-J16	D2 (65,000)[16]	43,942

Upgrades

The Government announced in August 2015 that the motorway would be upgraded to a smart motorway as part of the Northern Powerhouse strategy.

There will also be a new junction 11a at Runcorn between the existing Junctions 11 and 12 to relieve heavy congestion on this stretch and serve the new Mersey Gateway bridge. Work is due to commence on the new junction in Spring 2020. ^[17][18]

M56 corridor

"The M56 corridor" is a term used by estate agents and social geographers to describe what is considered to be a relatively affluent area of North West England, within easy reach of the M56. The area includes the cities of Manchester and Chester, and commuter towns and villages in rural Cheshire. It also includes Warrington and Runcorn where the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are prominent.^[19]

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom


• A56 road


• Chester to Manchester Line

References

External links

Route map:

• CBRD Motorway Database - M56


• The Motorway Archive - M56