M6

Today marks the sixtieth birthday of the motorway network, and of one entirely forgotten bridge in Lancashire.

It's been on the cards since the 1920s. Is the Western Orbital Motorway now finally going to happen?

Back in 1972, one Birmingham newspaper found Spaghetti Junction so devilishly complex that it published a pull-out-and-keep guide to navigating it.

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.

The headlines shout about traffic lights on motorways to ease congestion. How can that work? And is it even news?

England's motorways are littered with the remnants of service areas that were never built. Here's ten of our favourites.

Motorways used to be really simple. Now they have electronic signals, variable speed limits, emergency lay-bys, part-time hard shoulders... Just what is so smart about Smart Motorways?

The very first motorway was eight miles of relief for the Lancashire town of Preston. It goes without saying that there's an interesting story to be told about it.

Thousands of vehicles travel the M6 between the M56 and M62 each day. They all cross the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, and the bridge that carries them is notorious from travel reports nationwide. But what does it actually look like from the ground?