Simister Island
| Simister Island | |||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||
 | |||
| |||
| Location | |||
| Simister, Lancashire | |||
| County | |||
| Lancashire | |||
| Highway Authority | |||
| National Highways | |||
| Junction Type | |||
| Three Level Stacked Roundabout | |||
| Roads Joined | |||
| M60, M62, M66 | |||
| Junctions related to the M66 | |||
Simister Island - junction 18 of the M60, junction 18 of the M62 and junction 4 of the M66 - forms the north eastern corner of the M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road. Opened in 1971 as a standard two level roundabout with provision for an underpass onto the Bury Easterly Bypass (now M66) when constructed, it has since become vastly over-capacity.
In 1999 as part of the creation of the M60, the interchange was given free-flow sliproads for all left turns, and the circulatory carriageway was widened to four lanes with colour-coded Spiral Roundabout markings to direct traffic through the newly signalised junction.
Despite those works, this junction is still a frequent peak hour trouble-spot.
History
Original Plans
The original junction design included free-flow slips between what is now the two M60 carriageways. A large gap was provided between the carriageways of the then-M68 to the south of the junction for these free-flow slips, but the majority of this gap was removed during widening works in this area.
The openings
It opened on 3 August 1971 as part of the M62 J17 to J22 opening. Originally there was just the southern 1.1 mile M66 link to Rhodes Interchange.
The northern arm and the full junction opening was on 4 August 1975 per The Gazette, as part of the section of the M66 Bury Easterly Bypass scheme to J2.
2020 Consultation
From June to August 2020 a consultation ran on further improvements to the interchange. Two options were presented:
- Northern Loop Option: A new loop in the north-east quadrant, allowing M60 clockwise traffic to bypass the roundabout
- Inner Link Option: Widening of the roundabout and separation of traffic flows at grade
In January 2021, it was announced that the preferred route was to be the Northern Loop Option[1].
In 2023 it was announced that the Scheme had been extended north to include part of the M66[2].
Routes
| Route | To | Notes |
| Ring Road (W), Salford, Bolton (M61), Preston, Liverpool (M62), B'ham (M6) | ||
| Ring Road (E & S), Manchester & Airport, Oldham, (M67), Chester, B'ham (M56) | ||
| Leeds, Huddersfield, Rochdale | ||
| Bury, Burnley, Blackburn | ||
| Leeds, Huddersfield, Rochdale | ||
| Manchester, Middleton (A576) | ||
| Manchester, Middleton (A576) | ||
| Liverpool, Preston (M61), Birmingham (M6) | access from M62 east and M66 north only. |
Videos
M60 Simister Island June 2020 Consultation Option 1
We are holding a consultation on our plans to improve Simister Island Interchange at junction 18 of the M60. This is the Northern Loop option, which is the first of the two options we have developed. For this option we’d build a new loop structure to provide a free-flow link from the M60 eastbound to the M60 southbound. We’d also build a wider free-flow link from the M60 northbound to the M60 westbound, and widen the M66 southbound to 4 lanes through the junction.
M60 Simister Island June 2020 Consultation Option 2
We are holding a consultation on our plans to improve Simister Island Interchange at junction 18 of the M60. This is the Inner Links option, which is the second of the two options we have developed. This would involve building two new bridges over the M66 within the roundabout. We’d also build a new free-flow link from the M60 eastbound to the M66 northbound, and replace the existing single-lane from the M60 northbound to westbound with two lanes. We’d need to widen the M60 eastbound and M66 southbound slip roads if we select this option, as well as widening Hills Lane bridge just north of the project.
Links
National Highways
References
