Talk:M61 motorway

Worsley Braided Interchange
Google maps link deleted by "John" on 01 January 2012 restored, this is a useful image of what has been described in over 100 words, and needs to be inserted as an external link due to the fact that Google imagery is copyright and therefore cannot be inserted as a picture. Thanks for all your good work tidying up the copy in this and other motorway articles, but if deleting someone's contribution outright it would be good to know the reason why on the talk section rather than just finding it gone and having to search the edit history. My opinion is that a direct link is more user-friendly, however if the consensus is that a Google Maps link is not appropriate then I would be happy for it to be replaced by long/lat coordinates so that any map engine can be used. Baldy Bill (talk) 10:40, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
 * this junction definitely needs a picture, especially as it's linked from Spaghetti junction. Is there some way it can be included as an iframe so that it's actually Google displaying it, avoiding any copyright issues 94.174.119.101 (talk) 07:25, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

North /South issue Worsley/Preston. At 1832 BST on 28/5/12 Worsley shown as north terminus and Preston as south. Clearly wrong. All other junctions seem in accurate position reading down but it should read south to north in ascending junction numbers starting at Worsley and ending at Preston. I will do my best to edit. 82.17.193.126 (talk) 17:36, 28 May 2012 (UTC)Matt

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Length to four decimal places?
It seems crazy to state the length of a motorway to 4 decimal places! Mdrb55 (talk) 21:06, 13 September 2020 (UTC)
 * I agree, so I've rounded it to nearest integer. --  Dr Greg  talk 00:40, 14 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Someone’s put it back to 4 dp. Mr Larrington (talk) 20:15, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Junction 1
The following was posted on my talk page:

I thought it better to reply here, so others can join in.

The short answer is Google Maps, but it's more complicated than that.

Junctions 1, 2 and 3 are complicated and numbered in a non-standard way. Junctions 2 and 3 are clearly labelled on several maps. Google Maps also indicates where the junction numbers are displayed on road signs (which can be confirmed from Google Street View).

"Junction 3" is displayed only to traffic from M61 SE-bound to A666.

Junction 2 is where the M61 and A666 slip road enter on side and two routes leading to the M60 and the A580 emerge on the other side. What isn't clear is which of those two routes is officially the M61 and which is just a slip road. Or maybe both or neither. Maps disagree.

"Junction 1" doesn't seem to appear on any road sign at all, so it's unclear whether that is the junction with the M60 (a.k.a. M60 J15) or with the A580 (labelled as M60 J14). Or neither, maybe there is no J1?

Viewing OS maps via Streetmap (http://streetmap.co.uk/map?X=376083&Y=403136&A=Y&Z=120) On balance, considering all the evidence above, I think roads.co.uk have probably got it wrong, but I can't be 100% sure of that. OS maps ought to be a reliable source (but I think sometimes even they can make a mistake).
 * Zoom levels 7 & 8 don't show junction numbers
 * Zoom levels 5 & 6 show the M61/M60 junction in a split circle J1/J15, as well as M61 J2 & J3 and M60 J14.
 * Zoom level 4 shows M60 J14 & J15, M61 J2 & J3 but no J1
 * Zoom level 3 shows everything as level 4 but also labels both the A666 slip and the A580 slip as "M61". The M60 slip is unlabelled.
 * Zoom levels 1 & 2 show the M61/M60 junction as "J1" (and "J15") and the M60 spur as "M61". The A580 spur is unlabelled and the A580 jct is "J14". It also labels the A666 spur as "M61".

Also, by the way, I haven't found any maps or signs showing M61 J10. They all call it M6 J30. (This is however understandable as there are no junction signs on the M61 approaching the M6, because drivers have no choice at that junction.)

So in the table I have proceeded on the assumption that J1 is with the M60, not with the A580. This also is compatible with the previous version of the table from a few days ago.  Dr Greg  talk 15:28, 25 September 2022 (UTC)


 * Update: I've now found a picture on Google Street View https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5293352,-2.3692443,3a,21y,124.92h,112.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sLxKGX9G8wGs2Qlyg1Lwr-Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en on the M61 approach to the M60, ¼ mile away, that has a black rectangle that is the right size to have a "1" in it, but is empty.
 * There's another sign with a similar empty black rectangle at the ½ mile mark. https://www.google.com/maps/@53.5298831,-2.3721665,3a,19.2y,109.77h,95.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdq5nr-N9lN2RE94Qujcklw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en
 * That suggests to me that the M60/M61 junction was previously known as J1, but for some reason they've decided to withdraw the number and just leave it unlabelled for M61 drivers. Maybe to avoid confusion as it's also M60 J15.  Dr Greg  talk 17:40, 25 September 2022 (UTC)