View west from Leeds-Liverpool Canal underbridge to Sandy Lane, 17 July 1996

View west from Leeds-Liverpool Canal underbridge to Sandy Lane (see all photos of the same view)

The canal bridge is a hive of activity as layers of the new road surface are laid. In the distance, Marsh Farm and Marsh Lane bridges are taking shape.

Date
Direction of view
West
Structures visible

Structure 17 (Marsh Lane overbridge)

Structure 17a (Marsh Farm overbridge)

Structure 19 (Leeds-Liverpool Canal underbridge)

What's new

The road that made no sense

It was the UK's only single-carriageway motorway, and twenty years ago it ceased to exist. This is the story of the strange fascination it held, and of my place in history.

The forever bottleneck, part 2

The second part of the story, where we learn why exactly the M4 gets narrower on the final approach to Europe’s biggest city.

The forever bottleneck, part 1

The M4 into London was one of the UK's earliest and most ambitious motorway projects. It was bold, pioneering... and almost instantly regretted.

Share this page

Have you seen...

Emergency Diversion Routes

Those funny black and yellow symbols are everywhere - and they might just get you back on track one day.