M56 motorway

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.
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). Current proposals are to upgrade the A556 to a dual carriageway. 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. Construction began in 1968 and the motorway opened in stages between 1971 and 1981:
*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, but these have not happened.
Until 2008 the M56 terminated at a roundabout at the west end. Work started in 2006 to grade-separate this junction (and others) to allow free-flowing traffic to North Wales. The project was completed in 2008.
==Junctions==
Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance information.
M56 motorway junctions	M56 motorway junctions	M56 motorway junctions 	M56 motorway junctions	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 	J3A 	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 3Terminal 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 	J9Services 	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
26.8 	43.1 	Liverpool , Runcorn, Widnes A557 	J12 	Liverpool , Frodsham, Runcorn, Widnes A557
 	 	Weaver Viaduct 	Weaver Viaduct 	Weaver Viaduct
31.9 	51.4 	Stanlow, Helsby A5117Chester services 	J14Services 	Helsby, Stanlow, Chester Zoo A5117Chester services
34.5 	55.6 	No access (on-slip only) 	J15 	Chester, Wrexham M53
 	 	No access (on-slip only) 	J15 	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 	J16 	Hoylake, Chester A540, Birkenhead (A550)
===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.
===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==
Section 	Capacity 	AADT (2016)	AADT (2017)	Data
J1-J2 	D2(65,000) 	93,185 	109,037 	6046, 73773
J2-J3 	D2(65,000) 	69,287 	71,224 	36045
J3-J3A(Princess Parkway Spur)	D3(97,000) 	95,310 	 	
J3-J4 	D4(130,000)	164,320 	 	
J4-J5 	D4(130,000)	146,415 	 	
Airport Spur 	D2(65,000) 	55,470 	 	
J5-J6 	D4(130,000)	131,478 	 	
J6-J7/8 	D3(97,000) 	109,830 	 	
J7/8-J9 	D3(97,000) 	83,512 	 	
J9-J10 	D3(97,000) 	118,553 	 	
J10-J11 	D3(97,000) 	125,832 	 	
J11-J12 	D3(97,000) 	100,518 	 	
J12-J14 	D3(97,000) 	120,243 	 	
J14-J15 	D3(97,000) 	109,465 	 	
J15-J16 	D2(65,000) 	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.
==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.
==See also==
*List of motorways in the United Kingdom
*A56 road
*Chester to Manchester Line
==External links==
* CBRD Motorway Database - M56
*The Motorway Archive - M56
Category:M56 motorway
Category:Motorways in England
Category:Roads in Cheshire
Category:Roads in Greater Manchester