B6402

Route

Towards Bolton

The B6402 is a short link road to the west of Bolton.

Starting on the B6226 opposite Bob's Smithy Inn, on the edge of the moors outside the town, the road descends steeply along the tree-lined Old Kiln Lane, bending to the left as it does so. The outskirts of Bolton are then reached but the road does not become lined with houses as there's a service road on the right whilst open fields remain on the left. It's not long before journey's end at traffic lights on the A58 bypass.

History

This route appears to have originated as the number for the new Beaumont Road, which was opened officially opened on 18 June 1925 by Col. William Ashley, Minister of Transport at a cost £162,000. It connected the A673 with the A58 to the west of Bolton town centre and included Heaton Bridge. The B6402 was later extended north, partly on its current route, to meet the B6226.

By the late 1940s, Beaumont Road had become the new route for the A58, which also used the old and unimproved Victoria Road and Stapleton Avenue sections of the B6402, before another new section of road carried it round to the B6226. Having been severely curtailed, the B6402 was given an eastward extension along Markland Hill Lane and Whitecroft Road to meet the B6226 closer into the town centre. This section has since been declassified once more.