Liverpool Inner Motorway

Ex-industrial city Manchester has an urban motorway. Ex-industrial city Leeds has an urban motorway. Ex-industrial city Newcastle has an urban motorway. Are you seeing a trend? A glance at any map of Merseyside, on the other hand, reveals a city devoid of motorway mileage.

But in the early 1960's, Liverpool did make plans for an urban motorway - the Liverpool Inner Motorway - and got as far as drawing up detailed plans. There is evidence to suggest it was still on the cards as recently as the late 1970's. So what happened to it?

This section explores the LIM - what it would have looked like, where it would have run and what it would have connected to. It examines the history of the scheme and suggests some reasons why it was never progressed. It also looks into the closely related tale of the M62 - the motorway that finishes at junction 4, obviously pointing at the centre of Liverpool.

An ambitious plan - see the facts, read the spec sheet and examine every inch of the route in its original plan diagrams. Then find out what happened to it.

All that was previously known about M62 J1-3 was that it should have come between the centre of Liverpool and J4. This page reveals where the route would have gone, with a couple of surprises uncovered.

Page 1 of 3

Sources

  • Shankland, G. Planning Consultant's Report, no.7: Central Area Roads: Inner Motorway System. 1962.
  • Shankland, G. Planning Consultant's Report, no.11: Central Area Parking. 1962.
  • Amos, FJC. M62 Urban Section: Area Action Plan. 1974.
Routes
M62

This article was made possible by the friendly staff of Liverpool Central Library. It would not have been possible without their help, and I would like to thank them all, except the grumpy one on the front desk who didn't seem to like me much. You can keep your blunt pencils.

In this section

What's new

A century of motorways

It's 100 years since the opening of the world's first motorway, the Autostrada from Milan to the Lakes.

Schrödinger’s speed limit

In 2022, Manchester City Council say they reduced the speed limit on the Mancunian Way to 30mph. But it’s not clear if they did. It’s not even clear if they can.

Sorry, wrong number

Road numbering is a system with clear rules. What happens when the people responsible for numbering roads don't follow them?

Share this page

Have you seen...

Opening booklets

In days gone by, new roads were often celebrated with a grand opening ceremony and the issue of a commemorative booklet heralding the exciting new highway. You'll find some of them here, complete with a glimpse of all that empty tarmac and a healthy dose of modernist optimism.

About this page

Published

Last updated