Preston, Lancashire was reserved for the new western bypass. The M6 between junctions 30 and 32 was widened extensively between 1993–95 to compensate. Junction 31A which has only a northbound exit and a southbound entry opened in 1997 to serve a nearby business park. Other motorways terminating close to the city are the M61 – Preston to Manchester via Chorley and Bolton, the M65 – Preston to Colne via Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley and the M55 – Preston to Blackpool via Kirkham. Preston railway station opened in 1838 and has since been rebuilt and extended several times. It is a major stop
M55 motorway meet junction 4, where the motorway ends and becomes the A5230. The western part of the M55, and the first few hundred metres of the A5230, occupy the route of the old Blackpool Branch railway line. The first motorway constructed in Great Britain was the M6 Preston Bypass, opened in 1958. This ran from the current M6 junction 29 to the M55 junction 1. It was built as a two-lane route. In 1965 the M6 was extended north from what is the current day junction 32 to meet the Lancaster Bypass, and the M6 junction was rebuilt to its current