Lancashire four universities: Lancaster University, the University of Central Lancashire, Edge Hill University and the Lancaster campus of the University of Cumbria. Seven colleges offer higher education courses. The Lancashire economy relies strongly on the M6 motorway which runs from north to south, past Lancaster and Preston. The M55 connects Preston to Blackpool and is 11.5 miles (18.3 km) long. The M65 motorway from Colne, connects Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn to Preston. The M61 from Preston via Chorley and the M66 starting inside the county boundary near Edenfield, provide links between Lancashire and Manchester] and the trans-Pennine M62. The M58 crosses the
M54 motorway (B Carriageway) !scope="col"| Coordinates M54 motorway The M54 is a 23-mile (37 km) east-west dual carriageway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford dual carriageway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford. The dual carriageway cost £65 million to construct, and is two-lane dual carriageway for the majority of its length, with sections of three-lane. The M54 spur connects the M6 motorway near Essington, Staffordshire with the A5 trunk road at Wellington, Shropshire. The motorway forms part of the strategic route to North Wales, roughly following the