Introduction

The A57(M) flyover, or “Mancunian Way”, is an elevated dual carriageway that skirts the southern edge of the city centre, forming part of Manchester’s inner ring road.

Background

The main purpose of building the Mancunian Way was to ease congestion in the city centre caused by the heavy traffic (mostly commercial) moving between industrial areas in the east of the conurbation and Trafford Park and Manchester Docks in the west. In 1962, it was hoped the road would form part of a large network of urban motorways envisaged in the South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire (SELNEC) Highway Plan.

Early proposals of the route appeared in 1959 and it was realised that the road would need to be elevated to maintain access along the city’s important radial road system.

The road’s Parliamentary Bill received the Royal Assent in 1961 and plans were made for the road to be constructed in two phases. The first would involve a 950-yard length of all-purpose dual carriageway east of the A6. Construction on this stage of the road began in November 1963, opening to traffic in November 1965. The second phase between the A6 and A56 was to be designed as a motorway and include the elevated section. Work eventually started on site in December 1964, with traffic able to use the road by March 1967.

The Prime Minister in office Harold Wilson officially opened the entire Mancunian Way on 5th May 1967.

In 1968, The Concrete Society awarded the Mancunian Way their highest honour. A plaque commemorating this can be seen on the bridge over Upper Brook Street.

Engineering

The elevated part of the Mancunian Way consists of a 3200ft long, 32-span viaduct. Most of the spans are 105ft long, but some are slightly shorter to accommodate ground level features.

The roadway is composed of twin parallel prestressed concrete deck structures of uniform depth. Precast concrete units combining the hollow box spine, deck slabs and cantilevers were used for most of the roadway to make for simpler, more economic construction. Once the deck units were in place on staging and jointed, prestressing cables were threaded through ducts cast longitudinally in the sections and tightened. On single lane slip roads and where the road changes from two to three-lane dual carriageway, cast in-situ concrete was used. Cast in-situ concrete was also used for the 3 inch joints between segments, the large gap left to allow for casting irregularities and erection difficulties.

Once the roadway superstructure was prestressed, an embossed copper waterproofing layer was laid over the entire carriageway, followed by a 2¾ inch double layer of hot-rolled asphalt.

A number of pedestrian subways under the roadway were included in the construction. These were designed as reinforced concrete box culverts with glazed-tile walls.

Standard foundations consist of two reinforced concrete bored piles taken down to the sandstone bedrock, with a linking pile cap under each column. Central tapering rectangular columns support the bridge decks.

G Maunsell & Partners, consulting engineers, were the appointed designers for the 1960s elevated section and oversaw all construction work on the road.

In the 1990s the Mancunian Way was extended to the east, with a composite steel and concrete deck. The City Engineer at this time was Sinclair Mcleod. Alan Goss and Tony Buller were the Design and Resident Engineers respectively.

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References

[1] (1968) Award-Winning Entry: The Mancunian Way. Concrete. December 1968. p. 493-494.

[2] The Motorway Archive: Region North West – A57(M) Mancunian Way. [online] http://www.iht.org.uk/motorway/a57mancunian.htm (accessed April 2006).