The M606 links the M62 to Bradford, a spur from the national motorway network to one of West Yorkshire's fine cities. It was once - like the city it served - down at heel and not too welcoming. All that has changed - for Bradford and for its motorway spur as well.
In December 2001, when the Motorway Database was first created, this is what it said about the M606:
"If asked to choose just one word to describe this motorway, the best one might be 'messy'. It's badly planned, ugly, poorly maintained and was never finished. ...The end junction itself is clearly unfinished, with overpasses where the M606 should go under but doesn't."
How things change! Admittedly, this little motorway has still never been finished to its full intended length, and won't get you any further in to the city than the outer ring road. But its other problems have been resolved. Most significantly, the northern terminus on the Ring Road has been rebuilt to alleviate the chronic congestion it previously suffered. The unused underpasses have been put to good use and the motorway has a much tidier and smarter terminus.
In addition, the route into Bradford - onto the ring road, then on through several notoriously busy roundabouts - has been tidied up too, with a new interchange to prioritise the turns left and right, and other work done to make the journey from here to the city more bearable.
The motorway itself had long-overdue maintenance: it's got the resurfacing it so obviously needed, and its leaning, peeling light columns were replaced with new ones. It's now very hard to find something to complain about with the M606!
Here's one thing, though. The works to fix its terminus at Staygate junction have had one negative effect. All the shiny new signs declare that it's junction 1. That means there's now two junctions by that number on the M606, with junction 2 in the middle. Oops.
