M55 motorway
Encyclopedia : M : M5 : M55 : M55 motorway
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| M55 motorway | |
| Length | 11.4 miles 18.4 km |
| Direction | East - West |
| Start | Fulwood, Lancashire |
| Primary destinations | Preston |
| End | Blackpool |
| Construction dates | 1958 (Preston bypass) 1975 - entire motorway |
| Motorways joined |  M6 motorway |
The M55 has three lanes in both directions for its entire length. At its eastern extremity, to the north of Preston, the M55 is fed by slip roads from the M6 which predate the construction of the M55. Indeed they formed part of the Preston Bypass scheme, the first section of motorway to be completed in the UK. The M55 proper begins at Junction 1 ("Broughton Roundabout"), which gives access to the A6. Junction 3 ("Wesham Circle") provides access to the A585 Kirkham to Fleetwood road. The M55 terminates at Junction 4 ("Marton Circle") on the outskirts of Blackpool. The motorway continues as the A5230, a two-lane dual carriageway. The western part of the M55, and the first few hundred metres of the A5230, occupy the route of the old Kirkham to Blackpool Central railway line.
It will be noted that there is no Junction 2. That number was held back to cater for the proposed South Ribble link road, involving the extension of the M65 motorway around the west of Preston to link to the M55. The link road proposal has been dormant since the mid-1990s. Between 1993 and 1995, the M6 around the east of Preston was widened to four lanes, making the link road proposal less likely.
Trivia
During construction of the M55, the Jaguar military aircraft made a test landing on the motorway, in order to prove its capability to use makeshift runways in time of war.
The motorway is a popular escape route with Lancashire car thieves. [[Citing sources citation needed]]
External links
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