Blackburn

Blackburn
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County:	Lancashire
Authority
Blackburn with Darwen
Forward Destination Roads
M65 • A666 • A677 • A678 • A679 • A6062 • A6119
Next Primary Destinations
Bolton • Clitheroe • Preston • Skipton
Primary Destinations on the M65
Burnley Colne Preston
Primary Destinations on the A666
Bolton Salford
Primary Destinations on the A677

Blackburn, located 10 miles east of Preston and 20 miles north of Manchester forms one of the many Lancashire cotton mill towns that boomed during the Industrial Revolution. As such, it also is the gateway to the historically significant East Lancashire textiles region.

A potted history

In Roman times it was the site of a crossing over the River Blakewater (which gives the town its name) on the Roman Road between Manchester and Ribchester. This route is still honoured today as one of the town's radial routes is known (somewhat obviously) as Roman Road. The ford itself has long since gone, but the area of the town centre known as Salford is the historical reminder of it.

Blackburn as a proper town has only existed since 1851, since which it rapidly expanded, leaving all the major roads into the town (some of which were new build turnpike roads) surrounded by a mixture of both mills and terraced housing. Traffic was pretty abysmal in the early days of motoring and by 1927 the A6119 Northern Bypass was completed to allow east west traffic on the Preston to Halifax trunk road to avoid the town centre. It featured a dual carriageway section from the start to allow for trams to run down the road, but the trams never came out of the town this far.

Despite the bypass, even today it is difficult to get into the town centre itself without traversing highly built up urban areas, which makes travel considerably more difficult during peak hours. The town has always been hindered by this substandard road network, only gaining a motorway connection to the rest of Lancashire in 1997 when the M65 was completed after much political wrangling over its routing.

It wasn't always expected to be like this, in the 1960s ambitious plans as part of the town's masterplan were unveiled. Over 150 acres of the town centre were earmarked for redevelopment, with a concise network of high capacity roads such as the Inner Relief Route and the now M65 to be included in the package. However, economic pressures intervened and the proposed redevelopments were scaled down to 12 acres. The road schemes, barring the dualling of Ainsworth Street in the absolute centre, never happened. The motorway proposals went to public inquiry in 1974, were rejected by those present, and in 1980 the M65 between Hyndburn and Preston was dead. It would not be revived until 1987 when the previously discarded southern route around the town was chosen and redesigned for motorway standards.

The debates and arguments over the M65 also meant that much needed inner ring road was never finished - the only section of it to open was Barbara Castle Way in 1990, the remaining phases are nothing but distant memories.

Since the start of the 21st Century, much of the town has seen the road network be modified in a desperate effort to solve the chronic traffic problems and road maintenance issues (The Beatles famously alluded to the number of potholes in Blackburn in the song "A Day In The Life"). This has resulted in the creation of the controversial A6078 Orbital Route as a watered down version of the original inner ring road plan, and many town centre road closures, the first of which was the closure of Ainsworth Street in 1994. Traffic just continues to grow though, as the existence of the M65 now makes the town an attractive commuter dormitory as all the major centres of employment in the Lancashire area are within an hours drive from the town.

Completed Major Road Schemes

The list below catalogues all completed major road schemes. However, this list may yet grow as future schemes include the proposed A678 Burnley Road Bypass, the dualling of the A6077, and the completion of a dual carriageway link between the A674 and existing Alfred Wainwright Bridge on the A6078.

List of "A" Class Routes

Blackburn has several A roads considering its small size. This is a hangover from the days of the town being a major industrial centre and thus having major roads converge on the town. For a more comprehensive list see List of Classified Routes in Blackburn.

Blackburn

Junctions Brimmicroft Interchange • Brownhill Roundabout • Copy Nook Interchange • Earcroft Interchange • Guide Interchange • Nova Scotia Interchange • Waterfall Interchange • Whitebirk Interchange •

Services Blackburn with Darwen services •

Roads A6062 • A6064 • A6077 • A6078 • A6119 • A6177 (Blackburn - Haslingden) • A666 • A674 • A678 • A679 • B6130 • B6231 • B6232 • B6233 • B6234 • B6447 • B6535 • M65 • T66 (Britain) •

Miscellaneous Blackburn with Darwen (C class routes) • List of Classified Routes in Blackburn • M65 History •

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