The M606 is a short stretch of

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. Called the Bradford Spur motorway, the M606 leaves the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...

at junction 26, near

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is a ...

, and heads into

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, to join the

A6177 The A6177 is a ring road around Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is mostly formed from existing roads and save for its southern section is single-carriageway. Route description Starting at Undercliffe going clockwise from the east of t ...

Bradford Ring Road The A6177 is a ring road around Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is mostly formed from existing roads and save for its southern section is single-carriageway. Route description Starting at Undercliffe going clockwise from the east of t ...

. It is officially named the "Bradford South Radial Motorway" and was opened in 1973.

Configuration of the terminal junctions

Staygate

The northern end of the M606, closest to the city, was built with a large raised

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

crossing the

, but the original plans to continue the motorway under the roundabout were not carried out: access was only by slip roads to and from the roundabout. In 1999 a new slip road was built that allowed eastward traffic on the ring road, via a mini-roundabout, to enter the motorway directly and avoid the Staygate roundabout. In 2004 the junction was further remodelled, so that traffic leaving the motorway and wishing to turn eastward on the ring road continues under the roundabout, and round to join the roundabout from the opposite site, so that it has a left rather than a right turn to make (via two sets of traffic lights). Staygate roundabout is very close to

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

, the home of the

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

Chain Bar

The southerly junction with the M62 is known as the Chain Bar Interchange and features free-flowing sliproads from the Manchester direction M62 traffic to Bradford, but not the

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

direction, which has to use the complex traffic-light controlled roundabout. In late 2007 there was a 2+ lane added leading from the M606 southbound straight on to the M62 eastbound without having to stop at Chain Bar Interchange. The lane was removed in August 2017 following improvements to the roundabout.

List of junctions

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, rowspan="3",

, 0 , 0 , 1 , - Manchester, Leeds
- Leeds, Halifax
- Cleckheaton, Wakefield , , - , 1.5 , 2.4 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 2 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , Oakenshaw, Low Moor , bgcolor="ffdddd" , No northbound entrance , - , 2.4 , 3.9 , 3 , - Halifax
- Bradford , *Ceremonial Counties ;Coordinate list

Britain's first dedicated motorway carpool lane

In 2007, work started on the M606 to create the UK's first motorway carpool lane (also known as high-occupancy vehicle or

HOV A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...

lane). The lane scheme was on the M606 southbound and allowed vehicles with more than one person in the car a fast track onto the M62 eastbound at Junction 26. In August 2017 the lane's restriction was removed and is now open to all traffic.

Slowest motorway

In September 2016, it was revealed that the M606 is the slowest part of the motorway network averaging .

References

External links

Pathetic Motorways – M606

{{Motorways and Trunk Roads in England 6-0606 Transport in Bradford 6-0606