
The M57 motorway, also known as the Liverpool Outer Ring Road, is 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 ...
in England. Designed as a
ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...
for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, it is long between Tarbock Green and Switch lsland, and links various towns east of the city, as well as the
M62 and
M58 motorways.
Route
Starting at the Tarbock Interchange in
Tarbock
Tarbock is a village and former civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. It is situated to the south east of Huyton and to the east of Netherley. The village itself is from Liverpool city centre, from ...
, at the end of the
A5300, the motorway heads north to the east of
Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
and west of
Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...
and crosses the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It ...
. It then runs across the northeast of Huyton before running west of
Knowsley Village. After meeting the
A580 at a split junction (numbered 4 & 5), it continues northwest through
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...
, passes under the Kirkby and Ormskirk branches of the
Merseyrail Northern Line
The Northern line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Wirral line. The cross-city route runs from in south Liverpool then (by way of an underground section thr ...
before ending on
Switch Island
Switch Island is a major road junction near Aintree in Merseyside, England, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. The junction is at the western terminus of both the M57 and M58 motorways, which converge on the A59 trunk road, the north-sou ...
near
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...
. The motorway provides one of the main access routes to
Aintree Racecourse
Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...
.
History
The M57 was planned to be a complete bypass of Liverpool, meeting some of the key routes out of the city. As is normal in the United Kingdom, the M57 was to be built in stages. The first two opened were:
*Junctions 4 to 7 were opened in 1972 as phase 1.
*Junctions 1 to 4 were opened in 1974 as phase 2.
Phase 1 was approved by
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...
's highways and bridges committee in April 1969, estimating to cost around £3.9million with construction work anticipated to start several months later. By the end of 1969, work had not yet commenced, although the
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
Fred Mulley
Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley, PC (3 July 1918 – 15 March 1995) was a British Labour Party politician, barrister-at-law and economist.
Early life
Mulley was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, the son of William Mulley, a general ...
announced in December 1969 that a grant of around £2.9million had been made to Lancashire County Council towards the road's cost. Following conclusion of an
invitation to tender
An invitation to tender (ITT, also known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business activ ...
process in January 1970, construction work was expected to start around March 1970. The road was planned with dual wide carriageways and a wide
central reservation
A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ap ...
which allowed for future carriageway widening. The scheme was proceeded with more rapidly as there had been industrial growth in the area, and it was considered important to improve traffic connections as soon as possible.
[The Motorway Archive – M57 Scheme Page](_blank)
The original plans for the route anticipated an extension south to the
A562
The A562 is a road in England which runs from Liverpool to Warrington.
Route
Parliament Street
At Liverpool, the road is known at first as Parliament Street.
Upper Parliament Street to Speke Boulevard
It then becomes Upper Parliament Street ...
.
The road opened to traffic in April 1972, three months ahead of schedule. Shortly before opening, the second phase was announced by the council as being close to starting construction, with an estimated cost of £11.5million.
At Switch Island, the junction was constructed to allow an extension of the M57 towards the
A565 near
Thornton and the end of the M58 has provision for slip roads to that extension to be constructed.
The Motorway Archive – M58
Contemporary maps also showed a proposed southern extension, eventually constructed in the 1990s as the A5300. A new road was opened in August 2015 to join the A565 at Thornton to Switch Island junction at the M57 and M58 motorways respectively; the road was appropriately named the A5758 road.
At the southern end of the M57 where it meets the M62 (Tarbock Island) and also the A5300 southern extension, a £38million improvement scheme to create a free-flow link with the M62 eastbound was completed on 14 November 2008. At the same junction a free-flow link from the M62 Westbound to the M57 northbound was completed on 12 December.
Junctions
{, class="plainrowheaders wikitable"
, -
!scope=col, Ceremonial
county
!scope=col, Location
!scope=col, mi
!scope=col, km
!scope=col, Junction
!scope=col, Destinations
!scope=col, Notes
, -
, rowspan="7" , Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
, rowspan="2" , Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
, 0
, 0
, bgcolor="ddffdd" , 1
, bgcolor="ddffdd" , – Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
, Liverpool (city centre), Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, Warrington
Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...
– Liverpool(south), Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...
– Cronton
Cronton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, in England. The village is surrounded by green belt land. Over the county border in Cheshire, Widnes town centre is to the south-southeast.
History
...
, Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
, Whiston
, bgcolor="ddffdd" , Road continues south as A5300
, -
, 2.6
, 4.2
, 2
, – Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...
, Whiston
– St. Helens
B5194 - Knowsley village
,
, -
, rowspan="3" , Knowsley
, 4.3
, 6.9
, bgcolor="ffdddd" , 3
, bgcolor="ffdddd" , – Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civil parish population was 11,184 (5,265 males, 5,919 femal ...
, Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...
B5194 - Knowsley village
, bgcolor="ffdddd" , No north-eastbound exit or south-eastbound entrance
, -
, 6.2
, 10.0
, 4
, – Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Bootle
Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...
, St. Helens, Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...
– Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...
,
, -
, 6.5
, 10.5
, bgcolor="ffdddd" , 5
, bgcolor="ffdddd" , – St. Helens
, bgcolor="ffdddd" , No north-eastbound exit or south-eastbound entrance
, -
, rowspan="2" , Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...
, 7.5
, 12.1
, 6
, – Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, Walton Walton may refer to:
People
* Walton (given name)
* Walton (surname)
* Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer
Places
Canada
* Walton, Nova Scotia, a community
** Walton River (Nova Scotia)
*Walton, Ontario, a hamlet
United Kingd ...
, Fazakerley
Fazakerley is a suburb of north Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Walton Parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 16,786.
Description
Fazakerley is in north Liverpool; neighbouring d ...
, Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...
,
, -
, 10.0
, 16.1
, 7
, – Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale is a town in the West Lancashire district of England. It sits on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known l ...
, Preston
– Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
, Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...
– Bootle
Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...
– Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
, Formby
Formby is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under ...
,
;Coordinate list
See also
*List of motorways in the United Kingdom
This list of motorways in the United Kingdom is a complete list of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that the Great Britain road numbering scheme, numbering scheme used for Great Britain does not include roads in Northern Ireland, which are ...
References
External links
*CBRD
Motorway Database – M57
Bad Junctions – M57/M58/A59 [Switch Island)
Pathetic Motorways – M57
{{DEFAULTSORT:5-0057
Motorways in England
Roads in Merseyside