Brief history

The Preston bypass (J29-J32) was the first part of the M6 to open, in December 1958, and is the oldest section of motorway in Britain. The Lancaster and Stafford bypasses followed in the early 1960s and connected to the Preston bypass by 1965. By 1972, the M6 was continuous from the M1 at Catthorpe to Carlisle (J44). In December 2008, 50 years after the first section was opened, the motorway was extended to meet the A74 at Gretna in Scotland.