M6 Junction 23: Haydock Island – A580 Haydock
Junction 23 of the M6, known as the Haydock Island, is where the M6 meets the A580, for Haydock. The nearest town is Ashton-in-Makerfield, about 1.0 miles to the north, with Newton-le-Willows (1.3 miles south) and Earlestown (1.4 miles south) also close by. Villages right beside the junction include Haydock, Edge Green and Town of Lowton.
Roads that meet at or beside this junction: A49, A580, A599, B5209. The main road at the junction is the A580.
From here, the drive north to junction 24 (Ashton-in-Makerfield) is about 1.2 miles and the drive south to junction 22 (Newton-le-Willows) is about 2.7 miles. Junction 23 is about 99 miles from the start of the M6 at junction 1 and 112 miles from the end at junction 45.
- Junction M6 J23 · Haydock Island
- Signed for A580 · Haydock (East Lancs Road)
- Nearest town Ashton-in-Makerfield, 1.0 miles north
- Map section Section 5: J21A–J32, Wigan to Preston
Live traffic at M6 junction 23
The speed strip below shows the M6 from junction 21A to junction 25, both directions, from National Highways’ live data, checked every five minutes.
Live traffic speed flow: M6 Junctions 21A to 25
Untick all three to see just the speeds. We show the important overhead signs and the mandatory speed limits (red ring); see every overhead sign.
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How busy is the M6 at junction 23?
The Department for Transport counts traffic on the stretches either side of this junction. On the stretch it labels J22 to J23 it counted 115,276 vehicles a day in 2025, 13% of them lorries. See how busy the M6 is junction by junction.
| Stretch (DfT label) | All vehicles a day | Lorries | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| J22 to J23 | 115,276 | 14,832 (12.9%) | 3.1 |
© M6Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport, 2025
Junctions either side
- J22Winwick InterchangeA49 · Newton-le-WillowsNearest town: Newton-le-Willows, 2.0 miles
- J24Ashton InterchangeA58 · Ashton-in-MakerfieldNearest town: Ashton-in-Makerfield, 0.6 miles
Live traffic news at M6 Junction 23
Incidents and roadworks between Junction 22 and Junction 24 that we are aware of.
M6 Northbound and Southbound mobile hardshoulder closure (MP 290/5 - 346/6)
00:305 Oct 2026reported 17 min ago
- Location
- M6 southbound between J23 and J22
- Direction
- Northbound
- Lanes closed
- Hard shoulder closed
- Reason
- Sweeping of road
- Schedule
- 20:35 Sun 5 Apr 2026 → 23:59 Fri 31 Mar 2028
+ 6 more near Junction 23 - see all the M6 traffic news →
This is the news for Junction 23 only, not the whole M6. For the rest of the motorway see all the latest M6 traffic news, the overhead signs and the speed limits in force now.
Updated 00:47 Mon 5 Oct 2026