THEN & NOW MANCUNIAN WAY

Welcome to Then and Now, where each week we compare images of Manchester streets, landmarks and buildings from bygone days with how they look today

THIS week our main image shows a pristine Mancunian Way, opened by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in May 1967.

It was the first elevated main road to be built outside London and the M.E.N. christened it the ‘Highway in the Sky.’

The two-mile long stretch of road is made up of the A57(M) and A635(M) motorways as well as the A57 to the west and non-motorway A635 to the east.

The elevated part is 985 metres long and runs over 28 spans of 32 metres and two spans of 18 metres.

Little has changed in the two images separated by 53 years. The pre-cast concrete supporting pillars are still strongly in evidence, although they carry considerably more traffic now.

One of the five saplings in the original picture is no longer evident in photographer Nicola Mazzuia’s modern image, but four have grown into mature trees.

The Mancunian Way has been immortalised in the culture of Manchester. In 2006, local band Take That included the track Mancunian Way in their album Beautiful World.

It also appeared in the BBC TV police drama Life on Mars when leading character Sam Tyler, played by John Simm, was knocked down by a car and wakes up in 1973 close to the road. An advertising hoarding nearby advertises the grand opening of the ‘Highway in the Sky’ - a year later than its actual completion.

Many more images from Then and Now are featured in the new book The Changing Face of Manchester published to mark the 150th anniversary of the M.E.N. It’s on sale now at the reduced price of £9.99 plus postage and packing. Order your copy online at inostalgia.co.uk or ring the order hotline on 01928 503777.