View source for A580 road

{{Short description|Road in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox road
|country=GBR
|type=A
|route=580
|length_mi=29.5
|direction_a= West
|terminus_a = [[Kirkdale, Liverpool]]
|direction_b= East
|terminus_b = [[Irlams o' th' Height]], [[Salford]] ([[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]]) 
|junction   = {{jct|country=GBR|A|5058|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|M|57|dab1=Great Britain}}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|59|noshield1=|nolink1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5207|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5208|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|570|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|571|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|58|noshield1=|nolink1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|49|noshield1=|nolink1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|M|6|dab1=Great Britain}}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|573|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|572|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|579|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|574|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|577|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|575|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|M|61|dab1=Great Britain}}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|M|60|dab1=Great Britain}}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|5185|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|666|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|6|noshield1=|nolink1= }}
|destinations= [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]], [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], [[Manchester]], [[Liverpool]]
|history = Construction began 29 April 1929 and finished in 1934
}}

The '''A580''' (officially the '''Liverpool–East Lancashire Road''', colloquially the '''East Lancs''') is the [[United Kingdom]]'s first purpose-built [[A road (UK)|A road]].<ref name="lancshistoric" /> The road was officially opened by King [[George V]] on 18 July 1934. Despite its name, the actual road runs through the modern day [[metropolitan counties]] of [[Merseyside]] and [[Greater Manchester]] which were historically in [[Lancashire]] when the road was built until 1974. Notable towns and cities along the route include [[Liverpool]], [[Kirkby]], [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]], [[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]], [[Swinton, Greater Manchester|Swinton]] and [[Salford]]. It was described as "Britain's biggest road" at the time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anon |title=Britain's biggest road |journal=Pearson's Weekly |issue=2236 |pages=1361}}</ref>

==Purpose==
The road was built to provide better access between the [[Port of Liverpool]] and the industrial areas of [[Greater Manchester|East Lancashire]] around [[Manchester]].<ref name="lancshistoric" /> The new high-quality [[trunk road]] would supersede the indirect and heavily built-up [[A57 road|A57]] through [[Prescot]], [[Warrington]] and [[Eccles, Greater Manchester|Eccles]]. Journey times for road [[haulage]] would be reduced to under an hour.

This road was built with a 1930s Dutch-style cycle path running its entire length.  Many roads at this time were built with cycle paths but most have been lost due to road widening schemes.

==History==
[[File:East Lancashire Road - geograph.org.uk - 46780.jpg|thumb|left|A section of the "East Lancs Road" at [[Wardley, Greater Manchester|Wardley]] in the [[City of Salford]].]]

===First phase (completed)===
The first part, which was completed within three years, was from [[Walton, Liverpool]], to the junction with the [[A6 road (England)|A6]] at [[Irlams o' th' Height]] in [[County Borough of Salford|Salford]]. The {{convert|29.5|mi|adj=on}} road was constructed in an almost straight alignment with few curves.

To be a high-speed trunk route, its 1930s planners designed some parts to be three roads in one. The central section was exclusively for through traffic while adjacent side roads – either side of the main carriageway – provided local access.<ref name="lancshistoric">{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/eastlancs/index.asp |title=Early Highways Liverpool-East Lancashire Road A580 |work=Historic Highways |publisher=Lancashire County Council |access-date=2008-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229070048/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/eastlancs/index.asp |archive-date=29 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although the sections within Liverpool were [[dual carriageway]] from the beginning, a few short stretches through Salford continue to use the original three-lane layout. The rest of the road was converted to dual with a [[central reservation]] in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the original 1930s bridges remain; they were built from steel in preparation for any future expansion as they would be easier to replace than ones constructed from moulded concrete.

The road remains the UK's largest pre-motorway project. In 2004 the [[Highways Agency]] [[Trunk road#De-trunking: United Kingdom|detrunked]] the road, passing control and maintenance over to the local authorities along its route.

===Second phase (never developed)===
With the completion of the first phase, the next stage was to extend the road beyond Salford and into East Lancashire proper. However this was never undertaken. Its failure was largely due to the road's location. Despite linking North West England's largest cities, the East Lancs remained isolated from the rest of the UK's national road network. Both ends of the highway began in high-density urban areas that were not close to any comparable infrastructure that could assist rapid transit connections.

By 1942, proposals were put forward to extend the A580 across the [[Pennines]] to [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on the east coast of Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbrd.co.uk/histories/prestonbypass/02.shtml|title=Preston Bypass|publisher=cbrd.co.uk|access-date=9 September 2013}}</ref> Although this plan never came to fruition, its purpose became the foundation for the construction of the [[M62 motorway]] in 1960.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Croxteth Brook flowing north from A580 bridge.jpg|View from the bridge on the A580 slip road
A580 bridge over Croxteth Brook 3.jpg|A580 bridge over Croxteth Brook 3.jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.today/20070623230310/http://www.lmars.co.uk/roadpix/a580/index.html Lancashire Motorway & Roads Site]

{{GB A road zone 5}}
{{Transport in Merseyside}}
{{coord|53.4707|-2.6149|dim:30000_region:GB|display=title}}

* http://www.bikeboom.info/1930s/

{{DEFAULTSORT:5-0580}}
[[Category:Roads in England]]
[[Category:Roads in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Roads in Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Transport in Liverpool]]
[[Category:Transport in Manchester]]
[[Category:Roads in Merseyside]]