View source for M58 motorway

{{county|Lancashire}}
[[File:UK-Motorway-M58.svg|right|200px]]
[[File:M58 Motorway (the quiet one) - geograph.org.uk - 96347.jpg|thumb|M58 near Melling Mount, Sefton.]]
[[File:M58, Junction 3 at Bickerstaffe.jpg|thumb|Junction 3 (eastbound exit) near Bickerstaffe]]
[[File:Roundabout the end of the M58 - geograph.org.uk - 39270.jpg|thumb||Approaching the M6 interchange from the M58.]]
The '''M58''' is a motorway in [[Lancashire]]. It is 12 miles long and provides a link between the M6 motorway and the [[M57 motorway|M57]] north of [[Liverpool]].

==Route==
Apart from the approaches to its terminal roundabouts, the motorway is three lanes throughout.  It starts at Switch Island north of Liverpool and passes directly underneath the Merseyrail Northern Line. before striking out across open countryside and into Lancashire south of [[Maghull]] and [[Bickerstaffe]].  It then curves south westerly south of [[Skelmersdale]] before reaching the [[M6 motorway|M6]] at [[Orrell]]

==History==
Since 1949 an upgrade of the [[Wigan]] to [[Ormskirk]] route had been proposed to improve traffic flows, yet with the decision in 1961 to develop [[Skelmersdale]] as a new town, the proposals were revised to provide a link to the M6 at one end and Liverpool at the other.<ref name="lanc">[http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/mam58.asp Lancashire County Council – Historic Highways – M58]</ref>  

The first part of the road was opened in March 1968<ref name="ma">[http://www.iht.org/motorway/m58aintreem6.htm The Motorway Archive – M58]</ref> as the ''Skelmersdale Regional Road'' between what is now junctions 4 & 5.  It was originally a two lane single carriageway road that was upgraded to two-lane plus with hard shoulders in 1973.<ref name="lanc" />

The next stage was to connect this road to the M6 and construction on this part began in 1968 and it was opened to traffic in October 1970 as all-purpose dual carriageway.  Now junctions 5 to 6, this road was upgraded to dual three lanes with a hard shoulder in 1977.<ref name="lanc" />  These roads were upgraded to motorway status in 1977.<ref name="madates">[http://www.iht.org/motorway/m58am6stat.htm The Motorway Archive – M58 Dates]</ref>

Construction on Switch Island to junction 4 section began in 1978 with the road opening between April and September 1980.<ref name="madates" />

===Unfulfilled plans===
Junction 2 was not built, and was the end of a proposed motorway to [[Preston]].<ref>[http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/MAM58_files/image007.gif  Lancashire County Council – Historic Highways – M58 Map]</ref>  

At Switch Island, the junction has been built to allow an extension of the [[M57 motorway|M57]]  and the end of M58 has provision for slip roads to the extension to be constructed.<ref name="ma" />

Lancashire County Council had in 1949 also proposed a Wigan to [[Bolton]] road. Bridges had been built on the [[M61 motorway|M61]] to allow for this eventual continuation.<ref name="lanc" />  Later plans saw the road downgraded to an A road; it would have reached the M61 between junctions 5 and 6.

==Junctions==

{| border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; color: black; border-collapse: collapse; class="wikitable"
|- align="center" bgcolor="0080d0" style="color: white;font-size:120%;"
| colspan="5" | M58 motorway
|- align="center" bgcolor="000000" style="color: white"
|mile
| Eastbound exits
| Junction
| Westbound exits
|- align="center"
|17.5
| The North West, [[Preston]], The South, [[Manchester]], [[Warrington]] M6<br>Wigan (A577)
| J6<br>''Terminus''
| ''Start of motorway''
|- align="center"
|15.7
| Skelmersdale (West), [[Upholland]] (A577)
| J5
| Skelmersdale (West), Upholland (A577)
|- align="center"
|14.0
| Skelmersdale (East & Central) (A5068)
| J4
| Skelmersdale (East & Central) (A5068)
|- align="center"
|12.4
| [[Southport]] (A570), [[Ormskirk]], [[St Helens]], [[Rainford]] (A570)
| J3
| Southport (A570), Ormskirk, St Helens, Rainford (A570)
|- align="center"
|8.6
|{{no2}}No access
| J1
| [[Kirkby]], [[Maghull]] (A506), Southport (A5147)
|- align="center"
|6.5
| ''Start of motorway''
| M57, J7<br>''Terminus''
| Liverpool (Central), Southport, Ormskirk (A59)<br>Docks, Bootle (A5036)<br>[[Kirkby]], [[Widnes]] ([[M57 motorway|M57]])
|}

Note:  There is no Junction 2.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Outside links==
{{commons}}
*[http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m58/ Motorway Database – M58]
*[http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/mam58.asp Lancashire County Council – Historic Highways – M58]
*[http://www.iht.org/motorway/m58aintreem6.htm The Motorway Archive – M58]

{{UK motorways}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:5-0058}}
[[Category:Roads in Lancashire]]