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M55
M55 highlighted in blue Show interactive map Shown with North West England motorway network Show North West England motorways map Shown with UK motorway network Show UK motorways map
Looking east from Junction 4
Route information
Maintained by National Highways
Length	12.2 mi (19.6 km)
Existed	1958–present
History	1958: First mile opened as part of M6 Preston bypass 1975: Remainder opened as M55 2023: Junction 2 added
Major junctions
East end	Fulwood
Major intersections	M6 motorway
West end	Blackpool
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Counties	Lancashire
Primary destinations	Preston Blackpool
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
← M54 → M56

The M55 is a motorway in Lancashire, England, which can also be referred to as the Preston Northern Bypass. It connects the seaside resort of Blackpool to the M6 at Preston. It is 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in length.

One mile was originally built in 1958 as part of the UK's first motorway, the Preston Bypass, and the remainder was built in 1975.

Route

The M55 has three lanes in both directions for most of its length. After leaving the M6 at junction 32, the road immediately interchanges with the A6. It then crosses the West Coast Main Line and Lancaster Canal before passing north of Wesham to meet the A585 at junction 3. It then continues west in a rural setting to meet A583 at junction 4, where the motorway ends and becomes the A5230. The western part of the M55, and the first few hundred metres of the A5230, occupy the route of the old Blackpool Branch railway line.

History

• The section from the M6 to junction 1 opened as part of the M6 Preston By-pass in 1958.
• The section between junctions 1 and 4 opened in 1975.

The first motorway constructed in Great Britain was the M6 Preston Bypass, opened in 1958. This ran from the current M6 junction 29 to the M55 junction 1. It was built as a two-lane route. In 1965 the M6 was extended north from what is the current day junction 32 to meet the Lancaster Bypass, and the M6 junction was rebuilt to its current design to connect the A6 at the now M55 junction 1. Due to increasing traffic, it was decided to provide a motorway link to Blackpool and this road was opened in 1975.

Some of the material for backfilling the new M55 was obtained from a nearby disused airfield at RNAS Inskip, where the runways were broken up and the land returned to agriculture. More material came from the Tootle Heights quarries in Longridge.

Junction 2

Until 2023, the motorway had no junction 2. A proposed South Ribble link road would have involved the extension of the M65 motorway around the west of Preston to link to the M55 at the missing junction. The link road proposal has been dormant since the mid-1990s. Between 1993 and 1995, the M6 around the east of Preston was widened to four lanes, making the link road proposal less likely.

As part of a City Deal signed between Preston City Council and central Government in late 2013, both Lancashire County Council and Preston City Council agreed in principle to build a 'Preston Western Distributor Road' which would link the A583/A584 outside Clifton to a new junction 2 of the M55.

Construction of the new road began in September 2019 and involved a new motorway junction, four new bridges and two viaducts. The £200 million scheme was completed in July 2023. Moto Hospitality submitted plans to Preston City Council in December 2024 to build a services station off junction 2.

Incidents

Aircraft test landing

In April 1975, during work to extend the motorway, a test was conducted using a Jaguar military aircraft from nearby Warton Aerodrome to prove the viability of using the road as a makeshift runway in time of war.

Junctions

The entire route is in the ceremonial county of Lancashire.

Location	mi	km	Junction	Destinations	Notes
Preston	0	0	M6 J32	M6 – Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster	Opened 1965
	1.0	1.6	1	A6 – Preston (N), Garstang	Opened 1958, rebuilt 1975
	3.4	5.5	2	A582 – Preston (S & W)	Opened 2023
Wesham	8.1	13.1	3	A585 – Kirkham, Fleetwood	Opened 1975
Blackpool	12.2	19.6	4	A583 – Kirkham, Blackpool A5230 – Lytham St Annes	Opened 1975
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Coordinate list

1. 53°48′27″N 2°41′54″W / 53.8076°N 2.6984°W / 53.8076; -2.6984 (Junction 32 of M6)
2. 53°48′03″N 2°43′00″W / 53.8008°N 2.7167°W / 53.8008; -2.7167 (Junction 1 of M55)
3. 53°48′00″N 2°46′35″W / 53.8000°N 2.7763°W / 53.8000; -2.7763 (Junction 2 of M55)
4. 53°48′25″N 2°53′23″W / 53.8069°N 2.8896°W / 53.8069; -2.8896 (Junction 3 of M55)
5. 53°47′38″N 2°59′06″W / 53.7938°N 2.9849°W / 53.7938; -2.9849 (Junction 4 of M55)

Junctions 3 and 4 are visual reporting points (VRPs) for general aviation aircraft in the surrounding Blackpool Airport airspace.

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom

References

1. Route 6 - M6 timeline
2. ^ "UK JET MOTORWAY LANDING | AP Archive".
3. CBRD Motorway Database - M55
4. "Preston and Lancashire City Deal - The Key Facts". Preston City Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
5. "Preston City Deal to build new roads and create thousands of jobs and homes". HM Treasury. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
6. "Preston Western Distributor and East-West Link Road".
7. Motorway service station plans for M55. BBC News (2024-12-23). Retrieved 2024-12-26.
8. "Visiting by air". Blackpool Airport. Retrieved 3 July 2023.

External links

• Lancashire County Council - Historic Highways - M55
• The Motorway Archive - M55

v t e Motorways in the United Kingdom
Great Britain	M1 M11 M18 M180 M181 A1(M) A167(M) A194(M) A1077(M) M2 M20 M23 M25 M26 M27 M271 M275 M3 M32 A3(M) A38(M) A308(M) A329(M) M4 M40 M42 M45 M48 M49 A48(M) A404(M) M5 M50 M53 M54 M55 M56 M57 M58 A57(M) A58(M) M6 M6 Toll M60 M61 M62 M65 M66 M67 M69 M602 M606 M621 A64(M) A66(M) A627(M) M73 M74 M77 A74(M) M8 M80 M876 M898 A8(M) A823(M) M9 M90
Northern Ireland	M1 M2 M3 M5 M12 M22 A8(M)
Former	M10 M41 M63 M85 A18(M) A40(M) A41(M) A102(M) A601(M) A6144(M)
Unbuilt	M12 M15 M16 M31 M64 M4 relief road
Junctions ( Category)	Almondsbury Broxden Catthorpe Charing Cross, Glasgow Denton Island Handy Cross Longbridge Lydiate Ash Scotch Corner Spaghetti Junction Switch Island Thorney Thorpe Thurcroft
Bridges	Auchenshuggle Avonmouth Bromford Don Friarton Gathurst Kingston Medway to Nowhere Ouse Rakewood Scammonden Prince of Wales Severn Thames Thelwall Tinsley Queensferry Usk Weaver
Related articles	National Highways Traffic officers South Wales Trunk Road Agent Traffic officers Transport Scotland DfI Roads Preston By-pass Smart motorway Motorway service area List
Category Commons

• Motorways in England
• Roads in Lancashire
• The Fylde