Secrets of The Motorway - M57 

I recon at least one of those Brookside residents is probably a bit nervous about gardening around the patio. 🤣

“Junction 6 exists. Up at junction 7..” 🤣🤣😭😭 my favourite quote of the video. You never fail to crack me up John, keep up the amazing work as always. Thanks for brightening my weekend again :)

I didn't think they could make the Switch Island junction anymore confusing , then they did!

Showing my age, I remember when Switch Island was just a roundabout. We used to drive that way, to see grandma who lived in Melling Road, Aintree.

Im surprised you never mentioned the ski slope at Kirkby.

I like those overlooked, boring bits of pathway that can be found alongside our larger roads, perhaps featuring railings and underpasses. They have such a somewhere yet nowhere feel to them. An enigmatic blend of significance and emptyness. They have an atmosphere, a noise, a smell, a presence, yet nothing. Natures most brazen plants can be found creeping their way into these curious corners reminding you that, no matter how many horsepower you have, ultimately, you will never win. If you are lucky, you will see a robin, or a magpie, or even a jay.

Wait until the M67, I call it the road that lies, it has signs for Sheffield on it and only gets as close as Mottram.

Knowsley Brook Bridge where the tram track was, last saw trams in November 1956, just 10 months before the final closure of Liverpool's tramways. It was part of the Kirkby extension which opened during WW2 to serve the ROF there. Great video as always.

As a 5 year old Cantril Farm kid, myself and my friends used to play on the M57 just after it was built and before it was opened near the Croxteth Lane Bridge. It was great zooming up and down the newly laid tarmac on our bikes. One day we turned up and climbed through the fencing to be met with cars and lorries zooming up and down. and we then got spotted by a Range Rover Police patrol who picked us all up and took us home with a bit of a telling off for attempting to play on the motorway. It was great and we also got to see the lights and siren action being took home. Also, Brookside was on the opposite side of the field from our house, and we used to try and get filmed by the crew at the nearby shops (Baycliff Road). Great video!

Such a short motorway to have so many odd junctions 🙂 Great episode.

You could do a whole vid just on the various incarnations of Switch Island and how absolutely none of them have made it even slightly navigable. Even putting lane assist lights on the right turn from Dunnings Bridge rd to the M57 just confuses things.

Switch Island was also used for the experimental 'runway lights' which make it fun to drive hee hee

Well once again you have confirmed how short-sighted our transport planners are - and have been - over the ages.

Haha loved the Surprise Surprise theme at the end. I grew up watching Brookie

I watched Ashley Neal's video about Switch Island this week and now here's Jon to provide the drone footage that truely shows what a mess it is. Blimey! No wonder the M57 backs up!

In the 1970s I often travelled from my Grandparents house in south Liverpool up to other relatives near Maghull. I can remember going past a slip road onto the M57 that was blocked off for a few years even though it was complete. Never found out why.

Speaking of the soap opera 'Brookside' - taking place in a real cul-de-sac with real houses? There was a Canadian soap opera that took place in the province of Newfoundland called 'Outport'. The series ran from 2001 to 2006. The stories were about life in Newfoundland outports just after Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. The producers bought a real, Newfoundland, outport village called 'Tessimile'. It had been a fishing village of about 190 people. But, as was the destiny of hundreds of such 'outports', the government bought the villages and relocated their inhabitants to nearby, larger towns. This was for two reasons: 1) the outports often had no direct connection to the outside world other than by boat. No rail or even roads. Even electricity was often, only locally 'produced' with generators. 2) it cost the government substantially to provide basic health, education and emergency services to these isolated locations. Thus, many were bought up and abandoned. This had happened to Tessimile in 1987. So, the producers of the series bought the entire village for a miniscule price - from the government. Performed some minor refurbishing and created the soap opera. The largest, single expense was to build a passable, dirt road to the village from the nearest, dedicated roadway. Though this was actually funded by the CBC (the network that broadcast the series). The show was a big hit in Newfoundland for it's entire run. But was only a relative hit in the rest of Canada for a few years. After which, the novelty - apparently - wore off. And the high ratings in Newfoundland - with only 1/2 a million residents in total - could not justify the large expense to fund the series. So, it went off the air in first run status in 2006. Though it still is shown in Newfoundland, in syndication, to this day. The town was eventually bought up by fans of the series (for almost nothing). And is now a museum to the much-loved (locally) series. Of course, I just made the above up (except the part about Newfoundland outports being bought up by the provincial government - that part was true) Cheers. ☮ BTW - only 24.8K until 100K, Jon.

The Junction 3 spur road was unused for a number of years. Where there is a new housing estate on Stockbridge Lane was once Parkway School stood in the 1970's but was abandoned and I think it's last use was as Knowsley Security patrols base (I worked for them for a year in the mid 80's)

Oh so you're in Merseyside are you... So cannot wait for the videos on the M53 & M531!

I loved this from the moment you bleeped out a "fxxk" !!! 🤣🙂

Yay! My favourite motorway, cheers Jon. Stockbridge Village was originally called Cantril Farm estate and was once reputedly one of the worst housing schemes in Europe. Space wrote "Beautiful Neighbourhood" based on their life experiences growing up there..

Another memory triggered my grandmother lived in Liverpool as did her friends one friend was a lady called Annie and she lived in Croxteth or nearby anyway So we used to visit her and from her kitchen you could see the M57 in all its glory.

I remember junction 3 looking like it was complete but closed off and disused when I first travelled along here in the 80s, I could never understand why. The northbound (entry) slip was gated. It was like this for what seemed like a few years before it opened

Something from pedant's corner: That tramway bridge at 5:10 was used until 3/4 November 1956 carrying the no. 19 route to Kirkby. It was one of the last closures before final closure on 14/9/57. EDIT: I deleted "pendant's" and added the correct word "pedant's"

Living in Manchester, we regularly used the M57 from its first opening to visit my Auntie and cousins in Maghull, rather than the old route along the East Lancs and through Kirkby. I vividly remember them telling me during the later time that the M58 was being added that local radio (Radio City) gave a daily report on the ever-changing cone configuration at the junction and graduated from saying "it's been switched round again" to just calling it Switch Island! Fascinating to see how that's become its official name!!

Wooop wooop. I can't wait for the M62 episode

Junction 7 (switch island) is an accident hotspot despite a number of costly improvement the accidents keep happening, the proposed flyover at the end of the m57 was never built so too many roads including the newly built Brooms Cross road (M57 extension) and to the complexity of the junction and hence more accidents

Happy Sunday Jonny pisshands

Nice bridge !

Here's a our Graham! Love it mate, love the 80s 90s nostalgia you manage to squeeze in

Junction three (Cantril Farm latterly Stockbridge Village) was built originally but never opened for a very long time. Remember it having big wooden blocks stopping traffic. Switch Island used to be a huge roundabout then they halved it and then this mishmash. Still doesn't work

I skidded once on M57, when sudden Hailstorm hit the road. I braked slightly, big mistake, then was going sideways and ended up on the hard shoulder, luckily there was no other traffic about at the time?

All they need to do is add a couple of free flowing sliproads between the M57 and M58 and they could just call it one motorway. Probably be best in that scenario to drop the M58 name and keep it M57 because the shape of the motorway wouldn't be that far off looking like a backwards number 7.

Being a coastal city wouldn't in and of itself necessarily stop creating a ring road even if in this case it wouldn't be an efficient use of roadbuilding. It's not a ring road but if you google The Bandra-Worli Sea Link you'll know what I mean. It's an expressway built over the sea in Mumbai and takes a lot of traffic out of the very congested suburbs.

At Kirkby I can remember a completely blocked off junction and a ski slope?

Having watched this I'm now eagerly anticipating the announcement by Liverpool Council to build a ring road. BTW loved the 'Cilla' reference in the closing music.

Fun fact!...The slip road at 1:58 is where Sam Tyler (John Simm) met his demise at the begging of 'Life On Mars' to a carless E reg Cavalier driver. If you were facing the other way towards the underpass that is.

Before the A5758 was built, if one was heading to Switch Island from the north the only way to do it was through a housing estate and several sets of traffic lights, on 30mph roads. The 5758 is much quicker.

Little bit of blind date there john, nice one lad

I thought I see you knocking about suspiciously the other day around there 😂😂 that’s my neck of the woods,nearly got to meet the legend for a second time 😮

I think we don't appreciate this channel enough for managing to get good audio next to a noisy motorway. Unless he's a very good mime.

You forgot to mention the ski slope in Kirkby right next to the motorway😂, have a dig, it's quite hilarious!

M57 is also a BMW 3.0l straight six turbo diesel engine

0:14 damn….

I live between junctions 4 and 6, first ever time on the motorway as a driver was from junction 6 to Switch Island. Was very shocked that I made it through Switch Island without incident 😅

yay, the M57! my 2nd closest motorway, behind the M56! can’t wait to watch this

Thanks for the explanation of the tramway. I've often wondered what that bridge was for and, like you, originally thought it to be a railway bridge. Excellent content as ever!

Went through Switch Island going to Crosby and its the first time in 5 attempts we got through it and back without a mistake or someone trying to ram us. Its a horrible junction 😳

Great Description of Junction 6

Thanks

I know this motorway well, it's my way to Formby beach. Had no idea I was driving past brookside lol 😆 switch island is a nightmare.

If you're ever up in Scotland to cover some of our motorways, the motorways in and around Glasgow are all a cobbled together mess of half complete roads. The M80/M8/M74 all have a multitude of junctions that weren't completed as originally planned, whole motorways that were never completed resulting in junctions being haphazardly connected to the local road network.

I feel like Jon is just doing this series as an excuse to explore old infrastructure, mainly old railway bridges and viaducts

Jon I love learning about the uk from a unique perspective of your own just on highways as a Native Canadian indigenous man❤ regardless of our countries um stumbly bumpy histories I still love and hold interest in the UK and it’s interesting infrastructure and the d railways because England being the place where rail was invented and perfected. Lol I’m on one as I speak now in the Montreal Underground. Coming back from Cote Vertu to connect with orange line.

Junction 7 - with the stress on the junk. What an awful mess. As my mother used to say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

Great video John, very interesting again,I love it when you mention abandoned railway or tram service, very nice thanks 👌👍😀

Junction 6 Exists' lol Enjoyable vid of our wonderful M way again. Ty Sir'

Excellent. These videos bring out the road geek in me. Although I’m 56 now I well remember as a teen when driving with parents saying and pointing out ‘old road’ when were we on a new alignment of a road! And I still do.

Nice one Jon 👍.Keep warm 🥃🥃. YNWA

Thanks John. Nice to see you in the northwest. M58 next? It'd be rude not to whilst you're here. The M58 has even more unfinished parts to explore..

I grew up walking distance from the section between Prescot and Cantril Farm (renamed Stockbridge Village). The Junction at Cantril Farm was closed for many years.

Just like that bit of Tramway; most people would look at that and think ‘CBA to find out what that thing is’ but Jon DOES find out and feeds our minds with data and history 😁

This series has got me involved to the point I can't wait for my "local" motorway (M62) to get the treatment.

Happy Sunday. Enjoying cool beverage and the history of Motorways. Thanks again. Disclaimer. I am not enjoying a beverage and motorways in a moving vehicle. At home with my slippers on

Credit script - wave. Lots. Keep waving. WAVE AGAIN. Ooo pigeons. STILL WAVING. Another bloody fantastic episode Jon.

I used to live in Speke and worked in Kirkby, so used said southern expressway and the M57 daily. I've often wondered why the M62 starts at Junction 4 in Wavertree, so I'll wait for that.

Ah, the Tarbuck roundabout... clearly named after one of Liverpool's finest exports, Sir Jimmy. 😉 Join Jon next week when he gives us a 20 minute video on a bus shelter named after Ian Rush 😆

When I worked at Jacob's in Aintree we'd be required to go to their other sites in Wigston and Reading. Our hire car origin was the Liverpool factory in Long Lane L9 however something we noticed driving back was one of the distance signs on the M57 put a location FURTHER AWAY with a later sign you passed! I forget now, maybe someone here will rememember. I'm going back to between 1990 and 1998.

Thanks again 👍

Thx, MNiJ, great research and delivery as usual, I now know where Switch Island is; only 25K subs to go - you're getting there. M'kay 😆

You should cover the M2 here in Northern Ireland. Its an unfinished mess that was part of a motorway megaproject that was started but then never finished. Interested remnants and such.

It's nice the relief presenter John has had a chance of doing these videos, but when is the star of the show Rozelle coming back? 🤔😁

Switch Island looks more like an afterthought or no thought at all. I regularly use this route and the number of accidents here are unbelievable. Never seen a junction like it.

This is the best video I've ever seen about anything

M6/A74M say what?? Please make this soon, would love to see the best Motorway in the UK. I hope you are well, keep up the grand work.

Top one Nice one Get sorted

Absolutely awesome! My local motorway! And switch island is just a bodge of a bodge of a bodge

Enjoying this while sat at Keele services on the M6. Welcome Break do a beyond crummy job of looking after the place, but despite that (and hence perhaps strangely?) it's quite well appointed In terms of the franchise outlets, including a Waitrose 🤷 Still using the bridge for the location of the food outlets/eating area is a nice touch, too.

Been waiting for this one! This is where I grew up. Now for the M58 which I remember being built.

So interesting to find out the bridge was originally for Trams. Always wondered what it was for and just thought old railway. Another random place to visit, not so much motorway but near by is Skemesdale. You can see it had plans to be very big and busy when created, but a lot of roads clearly never built or finished as simply no need. Mainly the B312

Scariest thing is turning right from the M57 to the M58. 40 mph speed limit but boy-racers still passing on the left at 80 mph. Weird when driving from M58 to Formby. There's no right turn. You have to go straight on and then make a U-turn and then follow the slip road on the left.

Glad you've come up to our merry part of the world to do some moto exploration 👌🏻The M53 is a fascinating piece of motorway too, looking forward to seeing that one in the future 😁

I now have a gameshow closing theme tune going round in my head which I cannot name.....frustrating.

"Cuts through *Stab More* 's park." (Hmm. Sounds a bit like London.) Oh. Stadt Moers Park. Was thinking "more of a by-pass" before you said it. But then you did say it so there's no need for me to say it. (But I said it anyway.)

Where is the bridge at the end of your video? Can we just have an abandoned railway video, love seeing all the old railways in the videos.

The bridge in the last shot takes me back a few years. Spent a lot of time pissing about under there@

Why am I looking at the weighbridge at DVSA Switch Island on my other monitor? Tramway though! Brookside! Whatever the ending music was!

7:16 It's Bliiiiind Daaaate! With your host, miss Cilla Black

The A580 is commonly (locally) known as the "East Lancs" road

In 1972, the M57 ended at J5/J4, on the A580, on a bit of a fork interchange. You'd have to join the roundabout interchange if you wanted to join from the A580 westbound.

Loved the team bridge bit , who knew !

Never been in Liverpool but passed it going to sunny Llandudno another interesting an informative video greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

Hi John. Lmfao South Park Mkay. You should’ve ended this weeks episode with “Ok that does it. Screw you guys I’m going home” 😂😂😂

Switch Island is a dogs dinner. The amount of accidents and deaths there is totally unacceptable. Also junction 4 A580 is another blackspot where two lanes of traffic join the M57 but only one extra lane adds onto the M57. Lots of crashes here as well. Wasn't the motorway the idea of Prime Minister Harold Wilson who was the MP for Huyton at the time?

My favourite city, Liverpool! I'm friends with a few guys on the clubland scene there! And, STV announced this week it'll be uploading all episodes of Brookside, a few a week, onto the STV player, so good timing for your location visit!

That junction at the end is like something you end up with on the game Freeways, a motorway junction design mini game available on the Play and App stores.

my neck of the woods :D the knowsley expressway before it changes to the m57 is really important for none motorway traffic (L plates and such) to get from Widnes to Huyton a bit faster as the only other route would be to go through Widnes and through Cronton along country lanes.

Since you mention expressways as substitutes for motorways, the A580 East Lancashire Road seems relevant - to me, as a southerner, it comes off as a local secret alternative to the M62 between Liverpool and Manchester,never seen it properly explained anywhere - definitely ripe for the Auto Shenanigans treatment \m/

In 1965 I expect at least one of the planners dreamed of a motorway running past the front of the liver building! Enabling traffic to get to the centre of Liverpool at motorway speeds! Ring road all the way! 0:33

I got to spot my house! Yay