The North-West's first New Town was at Skelmersdale. The place isn't exactly a favourite with the locals these days, but back in 1970, it represented the beginning of a new era. It could be said that the town came of age when its fledgeling road network was first connected to the wider world with this section of road.
The new dual carriageway that skirted the southern edge of the New Town ran east to the M6 and west to Liverpool, and in the New Town plans it was usually referred to as the "Regional Road" - the road that connected Skelmersdale to its wider region. Since then it's been upgraded further - it's now the M58.
The booklet explains the future plans for the area, including the planned but never built extension of the road across the southern fringes of Wigan, and also shows some planned junction layouts in Skelmersdale that never saw the light of day.
