The Preston By-pass was Britain's first motorway. It was conceived, promoted, built and initially operated by its engineer, James Drake. The by-pass was opened on 5 December 1958 by the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. It later became part of the M6 motorway.The 8¼-mile motorway runs around the east side of Preston between Bamber Bridge (M6, junction 29), which is just south of Preston, and Broughton (M55, Junction 1), which is to the north of Preston.