Mancunian Way

Great excitement surrounded the construction of the bypass around the south of Manchester city centre. While the cranes and concrete mixers were at work, the Manchester Evening News coined the phrase "highway in the sky" to describe it, and a local schoolboy won their competition to name the road. He chose the name "Mancunian Way".

Today it's a defining part of the city — both physically, as a very clear boundary of the city centre, and also culturally. Manchester took the "Manky Way" to its heart from the beginning, and it seems to be one of the few elevated roads in the UK that is accepted and tolerated by the majority of locals.

This tour focusses on the spaces underneath and around the motorway more than the road on top, giving a different view of a Manchester landmark and a unique road that thousands pass over every day without much thought.

Map of the A57(M) Mancunian Way. Click to enlarge
Map of the A57(M) Mancunian Way. Click to enlarge
Routes

With thanks to Kirk Northrop for information on this page.

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