Big changes for Lancashire's former 'shortest motorway'

The 1.3-mile A6070 route - formerly known as the A601(M) - connects junction 35 of the M6 to the A6 north of Carnforth. It lost its motorway status in 2023 and now has a 50mph speed limit, while retaining the two lanes it had running in each direction under its previous guise.

The change came after Lancashire County Council applied to the government for it to be downgraded. The authority - which was responsible for the upkeep of the road, unlike most of the local motorway network - made the request in order to reduce maintenance costs.

“All purpose” routes do not have to be maintained to the same strict criteria demanded for motorways, which are designed to carry heavy traffic travelling at high speeds.

The now concluded work - funded by a £9.2m grant from the Department for Transport- began in April 2024 and has included:

***replacing 84 bearings on Higher North Road Bridge, along with repairs to two further bridges;

***installing 155 gullies and maintaining and repairing 540 metres of drains;

***erecting 2.8km of new safety barriers;

***replacing the surface with 3,600 tonnes of new material.

The road was originally built as part of the M6 Lancaster bypass in 1960, becoming the northern limit of the M6.

It functioned as the key link to the motorway network for North Lancashire when the M6 was extended north in the 1970s. The route was then reclassified as the A601(M) - making it the shortest motorway in Lancashire.

Lancashire County Council leader Phillippa Williamson - who also represents the Lancaster Rural North division, which includes Carnforth - said: "This has been a major project to maintain an important link road -and it's a credit to our highways team and our contractor, AE Yates, that it's been completed according to plan, on time and on budget.

"The road now being classified as an A-road as opposed to a motorway means that it does not have to meet the same design criteria which will save £30m to the cost of maintaining it over the coming years.

"We've also been able to carry out a number of environmental and ecological improvements as part of this scheme, in keeping with this now being a local road rather than part of the national motorway infrastructure.

"I'm grateful to the local community for their support and understanding while we've carried out this project over the past year."

Ruairi Flynn, AE Yates associate operations director, said: "We're delighted to hand over the A6070 scheme to Lancashire County Council.

"Completing this project on time and on budget is testament to true collaboration with [the authority] and our local supply chain.

"As part of our social value commitments while working on this scheme, our team also enjoyed a visit to Waterloo Lodge School in Chorley where they carried out demonstrations for the pupils and staff, as well as donating £200 worth of sensory toys and educational books."