The M62 50 Years On: Bombs, Crashes and Storms
Those that live and work in Liverpool but either come from further afield or else like to travel there will be more than aware of the M62. The 107-mile-long stretch of motorway connects Liverpool to Hull, also taking in Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield.
The creation of such a motorway was suggested for the first time in the 1930s, eventually being built between 1971 and 1976 in stages.
That means that next year will be the 50th anniversary of the completion of this well-known piece of tarmac, but what stories have emerged from it over the years that people remember?
The Motorway’s History
The origins of the M62 can be found in the 1930s, which was when the need for a new route to be created between Lancashire and Yorkshire became clear. It was also thought that a route between Liverpool and Hull would be useful, offering a connection between the two port cities and the industry of Yorkshire.
The outbreak of the Second World War put paid to any real idea of such a route being built, with engineers brought in after the war in order to look at the possibilities. It took until the July of 1961 before formal planning began, with the building work not getting underway for another decade.
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Initially, two motorways were planned, with the first being the M52 between Liverpool and Salford and the second running from Pole Moor to the Stretford-Eccles bypass. In the years that followed, these plans changed to make it one motorway, which would go on to become one of the most congested in the United Kingdom.
When you consider that more than 100,000 cars take the route on a daily basis, it is hardly surprising that it isn’t one that is all that easy to traverse during the busiest hours. Even so, it is one that people take because of its geographical importance.
The M62 Coach Bombing
Unquestionably one of the most infamous events to occur on the M62 took place in 1974, two years before the full motorway was even opened. The Provisional Irish Republican Army planted a 25-pound bomb inside the luggage locker of a coach that was carrying off-duty British Armed Forces members as well as their families.
The coach left Manchester late in the evening of the third of February, heading towards Catterick Garrison and travelling at about 60 miles per hour. It was just after midnight, with the coach somewhere between junctions 26 and 27, when the bomb went off.
On This Day In 1974: The barbaric M62 coach bombing, when an IRA bomb exploded on a coach carrying off-duty British soldiers and their families. Twelve people, including nine soldiers and three civilians, including children, were killed, and thirty-eight people were injured.
— Christopher Paul Dickinson 🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@chris1872.bsky.social) Feb 4, 2025 at 7:54
The rear of the coach was reduced into a ‘tangle of twisted metal’, trapping some within the debris and throwing bodies up to 250 yards away. In total, nine soldiers and three civilians died as a result of the bombing, whilst 39 others were injured. It was considered to be one of the worst mainland terror attacks carried out by the IRA, going down in history as one of the deadliest acts carried out on the British mainland during the Troubles.
Both the press and the public were angered by the bombing, whilst the subsequent investigation resulted in Judith Ward being arrested and later wrongly convicted of the atrocity.
The Selby Rail Crash & the Beast from the East
On the 28th of February 2001, Gary Hart was driving his Land Rover along the M62 when, deprived of sleep, he swerved off the M62 onto the East Coast Main Line close to the town of Selby. As he made frantic calls to the emergency services, a southbound GNER train collided with the Land Rover, derailing.
That in turn ended up in front of an oncoming freight train, which resulted in the deaths of both drivers as well as eight other people. There were 82 injured in addition to those deaths, with Hart being convicted of death by dangerous driving and sentenced to five years in prison.
A little over 17 years later and a car fire in severe weather conditions led to as many as 3,500 vehicles being trapped on the M62 between junctions 20 and 24. Around 200 people had to spend the night in their cars thanks to the awful weather caused by what was known as the Beast from the East.
In the end, the police had to work alongside Highways England, mountain rescue, the fire services and the military in order to get people moving again, which was facilitated thanks to the removal of a barrier between the carriageways. The road remained closed for the day after thanks to the adverse weather conditions.
