The A601(M) was a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. It was at the time of its downgrade a long dual carriageway, meeting the M6 at Junction 35. It is no longer a motorway but remains open, as part of the B6601 and A6070. Originally built in 1960 as the northern terminus of the M6 on the A6, the A601(M) became a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

to the M6 in 1970 when the mainline of the motorway was extended north. A short single-carriageway extension to the south of Junction 35 was opened in 1987, to connect to the B6254, and the road was renumbered the A601(M). This southern extension was reclassified as the B6601 in 2020, and the remainder of the motorway became part of the A6070 in 2023.

History

The section between the M6 and junction 35A was originally opened in 1960, as part of the Lancaster Bypass. This was a two-lane motorway. In 1970, the M6 was extended north, and a short spur was left to the A6. The terminal

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

was given the junction number 35A. Plans existed to extend this as part of an

Arnside Arnside is a village and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. It is Historic counties of England, historically part of Westmorland, near the border with Lancashire, England. The Lake District National parks of England and ...

link road, which would have connected the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

Peninsula with the M6, but they were scrapped for environmental reasons. In 1987, a link was constructed with the B6254, to remove traffic for Over Kellet

Quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

and

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in ...

passing through

. The road was then renumbered as the A601(M). No junction number was given to this terminus. The numbering A601(M) was somewhat anomalous: normally in the UK such a designation would indicate that the road was the A601 under motorway restrictions. However the A601 is the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

inner ring road, over away, and the numbering appears to have been the result of an oversight that this road already existed. In early 2020 the link road was downgraded to become the B6601 road to allow for an access for a car dealership to be built on it. In late 2021, Lancashire County Council issued a revocation scheme for the remaining portion of the motorway to be downgraded to non-motorway status. The revocation scheme was approved by the Secretary of State on 7 February 2023, and came into force that day.The Lancashire County Council (A601(M) Partial Revocation) Scheme 2022 Confirmation Instrument 2023.
/ref> The road was renumbered as an extension of the A6070, and future works will reduce the speed limit reduced to and remove the hard shoulder in order to reduce maintenance costs.

Junctions

The junctions below are depicted as per 1987-2020:

References

External links

Pathetic Motorways – A601(M)
{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0601 Former motorways of the United Kingdom Roads in Lancashire Two-lane expressways

History

Junctions

See also

References

External links