With the new road – which is named after Edith Rigby in honour of Preston’s most famous suffragette who dedicated most of her life to fighting for women's rights – having opened to drivers on July 3, take a look back at the road’s inception in 1975...
Also, be sure not to miss… 11 picture memories of the M55 motorway between Blackpool and Preston as the new junction and A583 link road gets ready for opening
13. The opening of the M55
Traffic congestion is a major concern for many people in Lancashire today, but even in the 1950s, motorists could find themselves stuck in a queue – as we see with the above photo showing London Road, Preston in 1959. Despite widening both the bridge and road in 1938, traffic jams continued to be a problem, even after the new Preston Bypass (M6) was opened in 1958. Until the M55 was completed in 1975, this was still the preferred route to Blackpool. Picture courtesy of Preston Digital Archive Photo: Preston Digital Archive