Built over a 40-year period, it passes through most of Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton. The £340m project should make journeys easier for 90,000 drivers a dayIt is the only motorway in England where drivers have to come off to carry on their journey on the same motorway.But a missing link could be about to be built on the M60 to end the anomaly and two decades of delays and jams.A new loop at junction 18, known locally as Simister Island, near Prestwich, will take motorists from eastbound to southbound of the M60 without having to leave the motorway.At the moment drivers have to get off at Simister and negotiate a busy roundabout before rejoining the M60 to head towards Heaton Park, Blackley, Chadderton, and Tameside.It could cost up to £340m, depending on which option was chosen, and work could start by 2024 with it opening in 2026.The current odd situation was created when the M60 ring road was formed 20 years ago, connecting several existing motorways with a new stretch of motorway to form a 36-mile ring road around Manchester.It means drivers travelling eastbound on the M60 at Simister Island, soon find themselves on the M62 on their way to Leeds if they miss using a roundabout to reach the southbound section of the M60.Highways England is now developing plans to cut journey times for the 90,000 drivers who use the junction every day to travel between the M60, M62 and M66.A virtual reality video shows how the new loop would look.Drivers, residents and business owners will be able to have their say on the proposals in a new eight-week public consultation which launches today (Monday 22 June).Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England’s chief executive, said: “We want to provide quicker and more reliable journeys for drivers across the North.“Simister Island is one of England’s busiest motorway junctions, and the improvements we’re planning will make it easier for people travelling between the M60, M62 and M66. As an orbital motorway, it is equivalent to London's The junctions on the M60 are very closely spaced together, with an average distance of 1.3 miles (2.1 km) between junctions. Manchester Inner Ring Road; The Inner Ring Road runs around the city centres of Manchester and Salford. The inner ring road is cutting into the neck of our city. Nowadays, the Manchester and Salford Inner Relief Route is complete. It would be the missing link of the M60 meaning drivers no longer have to get off the motorway to get back on heading eastbound.Traffic at Junction 18 of the M60.

Let’s tear it off, and let Manchester breathe again. “We now need your views to help make that much-needed motorway upgrade a reality.”Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:“Today’s announcement is a step forwards in making the M60 easier to use, less confusing and more efficient for drivers.“I welcome this vital improvement which has the potential to cut journey times, improve reliability and boost businesses in the North.”Highways England is encouraging as many people as possible to share their views in the pubic consultation over the next eight weeks to help develop the designs for the motorway upgrade.Other proposals being put forward as part of the consultation include creating a new two-lane link road for drivers travelling from the northbound to the westbound stretches of the M60 at Simister Island, as well as a new link road from the eastbound M60 onto the northbound M66.Or to like his Facebook page and keep up to date with breaking, crime, fire service or Salford news click The hard shoulder could also be converted to a permanent extra lane along the mile-long stretch of the M60 between junctions 17 and 18 to improve the flow of traffic, providing five lanes in both directions.Peter Molyneux, Major Roads Director at Transport for the North, said:“Simister Island is a well-known anomaly in the area which causes delay and disruption for thousands of vehicles every day.“It is included in our Northern Infrastructure Pipeline as a vital scheme for improving road connections in the North West, and on completion the upgrade will better serve local traffic and improve reliability for east-west journeys across our region.“This consultation is welcome news as the next stage in progressing this scheme and we urge everyone to give their views.”Highways England is changing the way it carries out consultations during the Covid-19 pandemic, and is no longer holding face-to-face public events.The organisation will instead arrange a series of telephone and online chats, where people will be able to speak directly to a member of the project team. As soon as it opened, the motorway got close to its projected maximum volume on significant sections. The current odd situation was created when the M60 ring road was formed 20 years ago, connecting several existing motorways with a new stretch of motorway to form a 36-mile ring road … You can find out more about the proposals and complete a consultation response form at How a new loop would look at Junction 18 of the M60 at Simister Island.

The recommended junction spacing for motorways is every 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km). The M60 motorway, Manchester Ring Motorway or Manchester Outer Ring Road is an orbital motorway in North West England. Almost 10,000 consultation brochures are also being posted to homes and businesses near Simister Island.The project team will be available to answer your calls on 141 0117 2444 061 every Tuesday for four weeks from Tuesday 30 June between 11am and 7pm, as well as on Saturday 11 July and Saturday 18 July during the same times. It's clear to see that the route of the Ring Road isn't the original idea. It's mostly dual carriageway, that crashes into traffic lights every 25 yards, other than on the motorway section. To the south one third is elevated motorway (the Mancunian Way ), with the remainder being at-grade urban clear way. It forms a ring of Manchester city centre via the A57 (M) and A635 (M) Mancunian Way, Great Ancoats Street and Trinity Way. If you qualify, you can book a Ring & Ride accessible minibus to take you, and an accompanying adult, door to door for journeys of up to 6 miles in Greater Manchester.