A580 road

A580 shield
A580
Route information
Length29.5 mi (47.5 km)
HistoryConstruction began 29 April 1929 and finished in 1934
Major junctions
West endKirkdale, Liverpool
Major intersections A5058
M57
A59
A5207
A5208
A570
A571
A58
A49
M6
A573
A572
A579
A574
A577
A575
M61
M60
A5185
A666
A6
East endIrlams o' th' Height, Salford (A6)
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Primary
destinations
St Helens, Leigh, Manchester, Liverpool
Road network

The A580 (officially the Liverpool–East Lancashire Road, colloquially the East Lancs) is the United Kingdom's first purpose-built A road.[1] The road was officially opened by King George V on 18 July 1934. Despite its name, the actual road runs through the modern day metropolitan counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester which were historically in Lancashire when the road was built until 1974. Notable towns and cities along the route include Liverpool, Kirkby, St. Helens, Leigh, Swinton and Salford. It was described as "Britain's biggest road" at the time.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference lancshistoric was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Anon. "Britain's biggest road". Pearson's Weekly (2236): 1361.