M531

Have you ever driven along the M53 and wondered what that half-built junction is between junction four and five? Or wondered why the road changes from a spaced-out rural motorway to a squashed up two-laned bypass? Probably not, but there's a bit of a story behind it and that is explained here:

In the late 1960s a road was planned from the Mersey Tunnels to the west of Chester, probably to come out somewhere near the present-day A494/A55 junction. The first part was built, as a three-lane high-standard motorway getting traffic out of Liverpool, through the Wirral and to where the ghost junction is today. From here, there were temporary links to the A5032, the fully grade-separated bypass for Chester and Ellesmere Port. The A5032 started life out as an unclassified road, so even though it was an almost entirely free-flowing journey it wasn't a very high standard one.

Anyway, whilst things were being prepared for the rest of the M53, the A5032 couldn't cope with all its new traffic, so it was upgraded to motorway, the M531. Even though it had very close and ridiculous junctions, it was decided it will become a spur of the M53 when it is finished. In the meantime traffic flowed straight from the M53 on to the M531.

After that, nothing happened. The M53 wasn't extended, and plans were soon forgotten, so in the 1980s the M531 was renumbered to M53. It was extended a little bit too.

This explains the unfinished junction (it was originally so that the A5032 could take the M53's traffic until it was finished, and then it became the M53/M531 junction-to-be). It also explains why the M53 loses a lane, and then drastically changes.

So what would be better then 23 photos to prove it all? Well, possibly a page on Pathetic Motorways explaining it all in much more detail. I'd like to make it clear this was written first though!

Coming towards the M53 on the J2 spur. This has nothing much to do with the M531, but we'll take a look so we know what we're comparing with. Tap to enlarge.

Sorry for the poor quality of the first few pictures.

You can't get a feel for it here, but this junction is huge for the amount of traffic that uses it.

Finally, joining the M53.

As you can see, it seems quite wide and is quite rural.

Junction 3. There is something special about this junction - lets go and have a look.

The road we meet is single carriageway - yet for some reason it gets a flyover leaving a deserted roundabout beneath. What were they thinking?

(And no prizes for noticing the change in camera, day and even car!)

Re-joining the M53. I wonder why it's only one lane here? (Actually, don't read much in to that, the layout was changed only recently)

Still wide, still rural, and very quiet. Compare this to later on and you'll notice a real difference.

Approaching J4.

More signs for J4. More quiet (and boring) road.

The M53 has a few sharp corners which are not up to standard, and have caused a few accidents. There was an advisory speed limit of 60, but too many people complained and it was removed.

Junctions 5 and 6; the closest on the motorway.

Road narrows on the right?

No more right hand lane then. Where's the other side going?

I don't know, but this is where we should be going. Right now we'd be turning onto the M531 and the M53 would continue straight on.

You certainly get the slip road feel here. Hang on - we would have just joined the M531 and we're 100 yards from a junction? Ouch, but I suppose before the M531 the road would have ended here.

There goes J5. Traffic for J6, keep left...

...because as soon as J5 joins you leave!

An Oil Terminal? Is that it?! Think of all those junctions that need to become free flowing; M58/M6, M18/M180, M1/M6 to name a few, but an Oil Terminal gets its own one?!

And we're now in Cheshire. Hello, Cheshire.

You can really tell the difference. It's really urban, feels narrow, and obviously, is only two lanes. I wouldn't want to live in that house!

J7. The other side hasn't finished signs for J6 though!

Skip J7 to arrive at J8. Those trees are hiding the road number that we meet at the next junction.

Oh, there isn't one. More signs of the motorway falling short of what you'd expect from it then.

So that junction joins and we're 100 yards from the next junction? Seems so.

An old sign for J10.

And in true M53 style, one junction leaves whilst we get ready for the next.

Most of the traffic leaves here (including me). Quick - everyone move into the left-hand lane; the junction's around the corner!

After this is a post-M531 extension, so it's all a bit dull anyway with that horrible early-'80s concrete surface.