Editing North West England (section)

===Road===
[[File:M6 motorway near Carnforth.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The [[M6 motorway]] is one of the North West's principal roads]]

====Regionwide====
[[File:Hardknott sign.JPG|thumb|right|Warning signs at Hardknott Pass]]

Regionwide, the principal road link is the [[M6 motorway|M6]], which enters the region, from [[Scotland]], near [[Carlisle, Cumbria|Carlisle]] in the north and leaves it, for the [[English Midlands]], near [[Crewe]] in the south. It connects such towns and cities as [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]], [[Kendal]], [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Warrington]], [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]]. The M6 intersects many of the North West's motorways and [[Great Britain road numbering scheme|A-roads]], carrying almost 120,000 vehicles per day (41,975,000 per year).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/7204.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201501/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/7204.aspx |archive-date=30 September 2007 |title=Final strategy report – Area 9, M6 (Jct 11a to Jct 20) |work=Route Management Strategy |publisher=[[Highways Agency]] |access-date=16 October 2007}}</ref>

Britain's most severe steep road is [[Hardknott Pass]] in Cumbria and the highest road in the UK is the former A6293 at 2,780&nbsp;ft at [[Milburn, Cumbria]]; the highest classified road in England was the [[A689 road|A689]] east of [[Nenthead]] in Cumbria on the Durham boundary.
[[File:Stockport viaduct M60.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Old meets new at the [[Stockport Viaduct]]; designed by [[George W. Buck]], it is the largest free-standing brick structure in the UK, built in 1840 when it was the largest viaduct in the world; it features in many [[L. S. Lowry]] paintings.]]

====Greater Manchester and Merseyside====
{{Further|Transport in Liverpool|Transport in Manchester}}
[[File:Liverpool City Region Motorways.png|Motorways of [[Liverpool City Region]] and [[Cheshire]] to [[Manchester]]|400px|left|thumb]]

The Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas are home to almost 4&nbsp;million people; over half of the region's population. The road networks intertwining these [[metropolitan area]]s are extremely important to the economy and are largely motorway, including the [[M62 motorway|M62]] which crosses the entire country (east to west, [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] to Liverpool); this motorway directly connects the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, carrying 78,000 vehicles in the North West per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/172974/173025/221412/221546/227050/261688/roadtraffdata.xls |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080306140831/http://www.dft.gov.uk/172974/173025/221412/221546/227050/261688/roadtraffdata.xls |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2008 |format=XLS |title=Road Traffic Statistics 2006 |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=16 October 2007}}</ref>

The Merseyside-Manchester region has many other motorways that serve many millions on a daily basis: the [[M61 motorway|M61]] connects Manchester to Preston; the [[M56 motorway|M56]] runs south of Manchester to Cheshire and [[Wales]]; the [[M57 motorway|M57]] and [[M58 motorway]]s run north of Liverpool and connect towns such as [[St Helens, Merseyside|St. Helens]] and [[Wigan]]; the [[M60 motorway (Great Britain)|M60]] is Manchester's [[ring road]]; and the [[M67 motorway|M67]] and [[M66 motorway]]s run east and north respectively, both of these roads are under {{cvt|10|mi|km}} and link Manchester to smaller outlying settlements. On top of this there are countless numbers of A-roads, B-roads and minor roads which circle, entwine and serve these two major metropolises.

====Cumbria====
[[File:Border Scotland.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A sign marking entry to Scotland located on the [[M6 motorway]] crossing the border of [[Cumbria]].]]

In Cumbria the M6 runs all the way down the east of the county connecting the very north of England to the Lancashire border. The [[A590 road|A590]] links [[Barrow-in-Furness]] to [[Kendal]] with around 14,000 vehicles per day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5066.aspx |title=A590 High and Low Newton Bypass |publisher=[[Highways Agency]] |access-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930183447/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5066.aspx |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> The [[A595 road|A595]] runs all the way along the West Cumbrian coast beginning near Barrow and ending in Carlisle, linking towns such as [[Whitehaven]] and [[Workington]]. The [[A591 road]] runs from Kendal to the centre of the county connecting [[Lake District]] settlements like [[Windermere, Cumbria (town)|Windermere]], [[Ambleside]] and [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]]. Other important A-roads include the A5092, [[A66 road|A66]], [[A596 road|A596]] and formerly the [[A74 road|A74]], until this was upgraded to motorway standard as an extension of the M6 between 2006 and 2008 to meet the [[A74(M) and M74 motorways|A74(M)]] at the [[Anglo-Scottish border|Scottish border]].

====Lancashire====
The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6, which also runs from north to south (Lancaster to [[Chorley]]). Other motorways in the region include the [[M55 motorway|M55]], which connects the city of Preston and the town of Blackpool at {{cvt|11.5|mi|km}} in length. The [[M65 motorway]] runs from east to west, starting in the town of [[Colne]], running past [[Burnley]], [[Accrington]], [[Blackburn]] and terminating in Preston. The Lancaster-[[Morecambe]] area is served by the [[A683 road|A683]], [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]], [[A588 road|A588]] and A589 roads. The Blackpool-[[The Fylde|Fylde]]-[[Fleetwood]] area is home to the [[A583 road|A583]], [[A584 road|A584]], [[A585 road|A585]], [[A586 road|A586]], [[A587 road|A587]] and A588 roads. The city of Preston and its surroundings are served by the [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]], [[A59 road (Great Britain)|A59]], A582, A583, A584 and, to the very south-east, the [[M61 motorway]]. To the east of the county are the A59, A6119, A677, A679, A666, A680, A56, A646 and A682. The [[M66 motorway|M66]] begins {{cvt|500|m|mi|1}} inside the county border near [[Edenfield]], providing an important link between east Lancashire and Manchester.

====Cheshire====
In Cheshire, there are four motorways: the M6, the M56 (linking Chester to the east), the M53 (linking Chester to [[Birkenhead]]) and the M62, which runs just along the county's northern border with Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The Cheshire road system is made up of {{cvt|3417|mi|km}} of highway and the principal road (M6) carries 140,000<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshire.police.uk/showcontent.php?pageid=76 |title=Road Policing |publisher=Cheshire Police Web Site |access-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230217/http://www.cheshire.police.uk/showcontent.php?pageid=76 |archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> vehicles in the county daily, linking the North West to the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]].

The county town of Chester is served by the [[A55 road|A55]], [[A483 road|A483]] and A494 roads, amongst others. To the west of the M6, [[Crewe]], [[Northwich]] and [[Sandbach]] are served by the [[A54 road|A54]], [[A51 road|A51]], [[A49 road|A49]], A533, A556 and A530 roads; these all eventually link up connecting the towns to the larger cities, including [[Stoke-on-Trent]] to the south. To the east of the M6 in Cheshire lies the [[Peak District]] and towns such as [[Macclesfield]] and [[Congleton]], which are served by the [[A6 road (Great Britain)|A6]], A537, A536, [[A34 road (Great Britain)|A34]], A523 and A566 roads.