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m6: the dawn of the motorway era


2008 marked the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most important developments in the UK's road network. Back on 5th December 1958, the first section of dedicated motor road was opened; the Preston Bypass marked the dawn of the motorway era.

This special piece takes a look back at how this important part of the M6 developed - why it was built, and what happened afterwards.


The Need for Motorways

As early as the late 1890s, a need for road improvements was recognised. It was seen as necessary, particularly with vehicles becoming quicker and more powerful - the change in the maximum speed limit from 4mph to 12mph demonstrated that.

Various plans were drawn up for dedicated motor routes to be constructed - full details of which can be seen over at Pathetic Motorways.

Despite the Institute of Highway Engineers publishing in 1936 their recommendations for a series of motorways to be built, Lancashire County Council was looking at making a series of road improvements themselves. The most important of these would be a 62-mile route heading north to south, effectively improving the A6 and A49 route between Carnforth and Warrington. The only problem was that many properties would need to be demolished, and the Council deemed this to be unacceptable.

Yet the Council couldn't simply look at improvements a la A580. They were "seriously perturbed" at the volume of accidents that were occurring on the East Lancashire Road - the problem was down to the mixture of high and low speed traffic, especially with traffic that was turning off the road. The ELR simply had too many junctions, farm accesses and houses running alongside - and it was single carriageway too.
So it was decided that the new road would have to be dual carriageway, and vehicles could only enter and leave via a limited number of "controlled access points". In addition, the road would be exclusive to motor vehicles - a motorway.

Yet Britain was lagging behind in the development of motorways - Italy had opened the world's first motorway, the Autostrada dei Iaghi (Motorway of the Lakes) back in 1925, and Germany opened a host of motorways during the 1930s, the scheme being seen as a job creation scheme.

The County Council decided to take a look at different types of road design, and it was deemed that the German autobahns would provide an ideal base on which to design a similar road. A series of surveys would be carried out, and the Council chose a north-south route that would provide the maximum potential for relieving through traffic from towns along the A6/A49 corridor.

After the Second World War, and following a visit to Germany, James Drake was appointed County Surveyor and Bridgemaster. His first major task was in 1949, when he was requested to draw up the Road Plan for Lancashire, a document that published traffic statistics and the common reasons for accidents, as well as proposals for a number of motorways to be built across the county. In total, it was hoped that 94 miles of motorways would be built within a 30 year period, based on pre-war expenditure figures. However, the main priority would lie with the main north-south route.

The only problem was money - due to the war, it was deemed unrealistic for a 62-mile motorway to be built in one go. So it was decided that a series of bypasses be built, with the sections in between built later.


Possible Upgrade?

Following the decision to build the North-South Route as a series of bypasses, Lancashire County Council decided that the first to be built would be a bypass for Preston. There were two reasons for this - firstly the town suffered from extremely severe congestion - after all it was where traffic heading north-south converged with traffic heading in from Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and Blackburn. In other words, all through traffic crossing the River Ribble had to pass through Preston. The second reason was that the town had a very poor safety record due to the high number of vehicle accidents.

Time and time again the Council argued their case and campaigned to the Government to get their motorway built. Their enthusiasm and passion to the cause would be rewarded, as in 1953 the Ministry of Transport added the Preston Bypass to the expanded road construction programme one one condition - the bypass would be a "guinea-pig" on which the standards of motorway design and construction would be based. Immediately staff were hired to draw up the design plans for the motorway, as well as produce models to show to the public.

There were very few objections, which were all solved through James Drake's public relations plan; he would speak to anyone who had a concern or objective, and persuade them how their issues would be resolved. All of the objections were resolved, so no Public Inquiry was needed. In fact, within the entire 62-mile stretch of Lancashire M6, there was only one Public Inquiry due to a farmer in Garstang not agreeing to a Compulsory Purchase Order - it was overthrown as he didn't turn up!

One requirement that the Council had to follow was that the cost of building the motorway had to be kept as low as possible. This meant that designs and drainage were much simpler than those of today - even the hard shoulder wasn't to be surfaced. Even the width of each carriageway was restricted to two lanes; despite James Drake predicting that traffic growth would mean three lanes would be required in either direction, the Ministry decided that two would be more than enough. And waste products from the excavation works would have to be recycled and reused within the road project.

However, the Council and the Government reached a compromise - the road would be built with two lanes in either direction, but room would be left in case a third lane had to be built at a later date. To do this, the width of the central reservation was widened and the lengths of bridges were extended accordingly.

Back in 1945, the Chief Engineer for the Ministry of Transport, H. E. Aldington, proposed the following minimum requirements for motorways:

Design Speed:

75 mph

Formation Width:

For dual two-lane carriageways: 93ft
For dual three-lane carriageways: 109ft

Marginal Strip:

1ft wide at each side of the carriageway, flush with it and of a contrasting colour

Carriageways

Dual two-lane:

Each 22ft wide, excluding the marginal strips.

Dual three-lane:

Each 30ft wide, excluding the marginal strips.

Verges:

Normally 15ft wide and clear of obstructions, but some planting of small trees and shrubs to be permitted. The width may be reduced to 5ft at bridges.

Central Reservation

Width:

Not less than 15ft, with the width to be maintained at bridges.

Curves:

Radius not less than 3000ft.

Gradients:

Normal maximum 1 in 30, but up to 1 in 20 to be permitted in some hilly country.

Lay-bys:

To be provided at intervals, to enable drivers to draw off the carriageway to rest or make minor repairs.

Roadside Facilities:

No frontage access allowed, but areas to be provided for the supply of petrol, refreshment and for police purposes. Parking places to be provided off the high way, particularly at view points.

Bridges:

Modern designs with the forms of construction, and the materials, to be appropriate to the circumstances.

Pavement design:

Attention to foundations essential. All road Surfacing surfaces should, as far as practicable, be non-skid.

However, prior to the Preston Bypass construction starting, the guidelines were revised slightly. These would be the requirements to which the construction companies would eventually follow:

Design Speed:

70 mph

Formation Width:

For dual two-lane carriageways: 112ft
For dual three-lane carriageways: 109ft

Marginal Strip:

1ft wide at each side of the carriageway, flush with it and of a contrasting colour

Carriageways

Dual two-lane:

Each 24ft wide, excluding the marginal strips.

Dual three-lane:

Each 30ft wide, excluding the marginal strips.

Verges:

Normally 15ft wide and clear of obstructions, but some planting of small trees and shrubs to be permitted. The width may be reduced to 5ft at bridges.

Central Reservation

Width:

Not less than 15ft, with the width to be maintained at bridges to 32ft wide.

Curves:

Radius not less than 3000ft.

Gradients:

Normal maximum 1 in 30, but up to 1 in 25 to be permitted in some hilly country.

Hard Shoulder:

8 feet wide, adjacent to the carriageway for the length of the motorway except at bridges.

Roadside Facilities:

No frontage access allowed, but areas to be provided for the supply of petrol, refreshment and for police purposes.

Bridges:

Modern designs with the forms of construction, and the materials, to be appropriate to the circumstances.

Surfacing:

Surfaces should, as far as practicable, be non-skid.

Anyway, the Government announced that the motorway could be built in the 1956-7 financial year. So work began in June 1956, with a two year deadline issued. The work would be carried out by the following contractors:

(1) For Samlesbury Bridge

Cleveland Bridge & Engineering
Company, Darlington

Tender:
£334, 431

(2) For Higher Walton  Bridge

Dorman Long (Bridge & Engineering)
Limited, Luton

Tender:
£193, 690

(3) For the motorway,  including 19
       other bridges

Tarmac Limited, Wolverhampton

Tender: £2,432,360

            Sub-contractors for the bridgeworks

Leonard Fairclough Limited, Adlington


The two major bridges, Samlesbury and Higher Walton, were separated from the rest of the scheme due their complexity - the Council and Ministry decided that separate tenders should be issued for the two projects, with the aim of hiring specialist steel construction companies to undertake that part of the work. Both bridges would be rather long, Samlesbury Bridge carrying the River Ribble and A59, whilst the Higher Walton Bridge would carry the motorway over the River Darwen valley.

One other requirement of the bridge contracts was that they would be waterproofed, by using hot-rolled asphalt as the road surfacing, as well as the use of a waterproof membrane beneath the central reservation and side verges.

The remaining bridges would be made using pre-stressed concrete, a technique that was relatively new at the time. This also helped in that the bridges did not need to be painted!

As for the road, Tarmac split their construction works into nine sections, A to J (there was no I section). John Baxter was a Senior Engineer who was in charge of sections H and J, which were the furthest north on the road. He told roadsUK that special consideration had to be given to "Boy's Farm Curve", named after a nearby farm, as this was where the motorway would curve sharply on the approach to the A6 at Broughton. The two carriageways was built slightly further apart at this point, in order to allow for the northward extension of the M6 to be built later. The southbound carriageway also needed moving further back as it needed to be banked up on an angle, so that traffic could safely negotiate the bend and remain at high speed.

However, that deadline would not be met - almost from the start, the weather caused problems - the timeframe was set on the basis that the weather would be typically Prestonian, but constant rainfall meant that the ground conditions were too soggy for the major excavation works to had to be carried out in soft silty clays that were dominant in the area. The result was "cow bellying", whereby the machines were slipping as the clay was neither hard enough to operate normally, yet wasn't soft enough to cause the machines to slip. It was a scenario similar to aquaplaning on a wet road whilst moving a high speed.

The problem would be repeated throughout the construction period - there were a few brief dry spells, but the weather was mostly grim and wet. Even the huge earthmovers and other heavy plant used for the excavation of the escarpments couldn't work in those conditions because of the conditions.

Under normal circumstances, the soils excavated would be used for the embankments, but other materials had to be brought in for this purpose. Fortunately, the bridgeworks were not affected by the weather.
Because of this, a revised timescale was implemented with a new deadline of 30 November 1958. The project was completed in time for this revised date, and the motorway was ready to be opened less than a week later.


The Motorway Era Begins

The Preston Bypass was officially to traffic on 5th December 1958. Such was the national importance of the momentous occasion, the opening ceremony was carried out by the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan.

What Lancashire has today, other parts of the country will have tomorrow... In the years to come, the county and country alike will look at the Preston Bypass - a fine thing in itself but a finer thing as a symbol - as a token of what was to follow.
Harold Macmillan at the opening of the Preston Bypass

Preston Bypass Opening Brochure
PDF document (6 Mb)

People queued for hours to test out the motorway, and coach companies ran excursions so people could take a look for themselves at the new British marvel. The lack of speed limit meant that motorists were willing to put their cars to the test and see how fast they could travel.

On the day we were behind the barriers and I was driving a company Land Rover and once the official party had gone past the barriers came away and off we went. So I was possibly the first person - as a member of the public - to drive along the Preston bypass - Britain's first motorway.
John Baxter, Tarmac Ltd Senior Engineer, in an interview with BBC News
 
I remember the early days of the Preston by-pass. I was learning to drive and, with my tutor at the wheel, drove it both ways. We came down the hill to the bridge over the Ribble at 80mph plus in a pre-war Ford. I was terrified. The reason for the trip was that the next Sunday, my tutor was to drive the Jaguar of a local bookmaker over the by-pass in a bet against some other participant.
L. Willan, Great Harwood

However, within a year, there was a blip - the road had to be closed. A particularly cold and wet winter meant the water table in the vicinity of the motorway was higher than normal, and the lack of paving along the hard shoulder had allowed water to seep beneath the tarmac, before being drawn up towards the surface. After a cold, frosty snap in January 1959, the temperature suddenly shot up from -13C to 4C within the space of 36 hours. This resulted in the road surface becoming damaged in places. So rather than risk an accident, especially in light of the lack of speed limit, the local police Chief Constable and James Drake agreed to close the motorway - just 47 days after it had opened - whilst repairs took place.

Yet despite the drawback, the motorway was deemed as a massive success. After all the problems endured by motorists in Preston, the majority of motorists could enjoy quicker journey times, simply by leaving the A6 at one end of the Bypass and re-joining it at the other end. In addition, it allowed the post-war economy to boom - companies moved into the area, opening new depots and factories close to the motorway. This allowed them to get goods out faster, and gave firms easier access to the rest of Lancashire and, with the extensions of the motorway in either direction, the rest of the country as well. Figures released after the motorway opened estimated savings of around £1 million per year in time and operating costs for those companies that relocated to Preston.

There was one other problem that affected the motorway; as Samlesbury Bridge was a box-girder bridge, restrictions had to be imposed on the structure during the late 1960s due to a series of faults that were found with other similar bridges, both in the UK and abroad. This meant one lane had to be closed on each carriageway whilst inspection works were carried out. Fortunately, Samlesbury was one of a small number of box-girder bridges that were given the all clear and did not need any work carrying out to them, a testament to James Drake and his team.


Rules of the Road

As this was a new type of road, a new set of rules were drawn up for the Bypass. The road was built for the sole use of motor vehicles, so other slower and more dangerous forms of transportation had to be excluded from the road.

As the roads were designed to enable traffic to travel safely and at high speed, thus reducing the risk of accidents, particularly through bad driving. So the rules that were introduced were:
- No Learner Drivers
- No Mopeds
- No Motorcycles under 50cc
- No Invalid Carriages
- No Pedal Cycles
- No Pedestrians
- No Animals

In order to make these legally standing, the law was changed with a new classification of Special Road introduced. This would allow the police to monitor the road more effectively - a special Police Unit was set up to patrol the motorway, and started patrolling the road three weeks before the road opened, in order to get used to the conditions of the route before the general public started using it.

However, the prospect of trying out the new road before anyone else was very tempting for some motorists, and the police had to patrol the road to ensure nobody had snuck on. Yet some were caught...

I will never forget my first road offence. It was on the M6 two days before the M6 was even open! I used to regularly go to Scotland by motorbike to see my parents and I saw the new road at Bamber Bridge. There was no-one in sight so I got on it to give it a go.

I soon saw a black Humber police car in my mirror. It flashed me to stop and I explained I was only having a look! I got a good telling off and was told I was lucky not to be fined and my Honda confiscated. I even had "L" plates on the bike.
O Ruse, Leyland
 
I was a police patrol officer and my entire Traffic Unit was assigned to the newly formed Motorway Patrol Unit. We started to patrol the new section three weeks before it officially opened in order to get familiar with hazards such as drivers accessing the motorway illegally and breaking down, blowing up engines and colliding with machinery.

The first weeks after the opening our main active was helping motorists who were wanting to see how fast their vehicles would go. It was a common sight to see an oil slick leading on to the hard shoulder and a downcast driver heading for an emergency phone!
Clive, Broughton


Lessons Learned

As the Preston Bypass was built as an experiment, it was inevitable that there would be changes that had to be made in order to stop similar problems happening with future motorway projects. With the M1 already under construction down south, these needed to be implemented pretty swiftly!

The following faults in the design of the motorway were highlighted:
In order to ensure that as much suitable excavated material as possible is used in the construction of embankments, the responsibilities of the Contractor in carrying out the earthworks should be more clearly defined in both the Specification and the Bill of Quantities. In that respect, it is incumbent on the Contractor to employ appropriate types of plant, having regard to the ground and weather conditions.

Great care should be taken in the design of the slopes of cuttings and embankments, having regard to the characteristics of the materials involved.

The carriageway sub-base material should be of properly screened and graded material complying with a clearly defined specification.

The surface-water drainage system was unsatisfactory.

The principle of laying a temporary surface on the carriageways of motorways should not be perpetuated.

 It soon became evident that continuous hard shoulders would have been a valuable asset:
   - as a means of access for emergency vehicles when a breakdown or accident
     occurred which brought traffic to a halt, and
   - for use as additional traffic lanes when it was necessary to close the normal running
     lanes for maintenance purposes.
 
The form of construction of the hard shoulders was inadequate, as it was not unknown in jacking-up a heavy vehicle, for the jack to be driven into the surface instead of lifting the vehicle.
 
The explosive growth of traffic, which occurred within a short period after opening, demonstrated the need for all future motorways to be constructed with dual three-lane carriageways at the outset, unless there are very strong reasons to the contrary.
 
Irrespective of the type or surfacing, bridge decks should be fully waterproofed.
 
Hedges are unsuitable for use as any form of barrier in the central reservation, particularly due to the effect on growth arising from winter gritting operations. In view of the liabilities of the Highway Authority for the maintenance of the motorway boundary 'fencing', doubts were expressed at the suitability of hedges for this purpose.
 
Light-wells in the central reservation of underbridges are a potential hazard.

However, there were a couple of positive points raised, that the Government wanted to be carried on:
The extensive public consultation carried out throughout the whole process, had not only assisted in the smooth passage of the statutory procedures but also in dealing with complaints during the period of construction.

There was a favourable reaction to the use of different colours in the painting of steel bridges.


More Space Needed

In less than eight years, the Government were left somewhat embarrassed as traffic volumes on the motorway grew to such an extent that it had reached capacity. So, during the middle part of the 1960s, the third lane that James Drake knew was required was constructed. It was a good job that the central reservation was built so wide, as it meant that no further land-take was required.

At about the same time, the woefully inadequate hard shoulders were replaced with proper asphalt surfaces. In order to differentiate them from the rest of the traffic lanes, a layer of red "schlamme" was laid on top of the surface. However, due to the width of the bridges, there was not enough room to run the hard shoulders through the bridges, so a discontinuous shoulder had to be constructed.

With the growth of car travel, and the subsequent opening of the southern (1963) and northern (1965) extensions of the M6, as well as the M55 to Blackpool in 1975, the motorway continued to become increasingly popular. Traffic jams were not uncommon, particularly during the summer months. By the time the 1980s arrived, the need to widen the motorway further was being looked at.

A study of the Preston Bypass section of the M6 during 1984 to 1986 concluded that the motorway needed to be widened between Junctions 30 and 32 (M61 to M55). One other concern that had to be addressed was the lack of continuous hard shoulder, as it meant that it could not be used as a running lane in the event of an emergency or major roadworks.

During 1989 a period of Public Consultation was held, which included local exhibitions, which was then followed by a public inquiry during 1991. The options for the road included three possibilities:
- Symmetrical widening - where the width of the road is widened on both sides;
- Asymmetrical widening - where the width of the road is only widened on one side; and
- Parallel widening - where a new section of road is built off the current line of the road.

This planning process went through without too many problems, and the widening work started in the summer of 1993. In the end, the approved widening scheme included a mixture of all three options, with the parallel widening section in the vicinity of the Longridge Road overbridge. In order to build the new road layout to the required standard, all of the existing bridges had to be demolished and replaced.

In addition, a new junction was constructed between Samlesbury and Broughton Interchanges in order to serve the new Preston East Employment Area. However, this would only have south-facing slip roads, so traffic from the north would have to access the Area via M55 Junction 1.

The widening project was completed in August 1995. However, concerns have arisen during and after the works questioning if the widened road could handle anticipated future traffic growth. Should congestion worsen still, consideration will be made towards a new southern and western bypass instead of further widening of the M6.