M5 motorway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| M5 Motorway | |
 Road of the United Kingdom |
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| Length | 162.9 miles (262.2 km) |
| Direction | Northeast - Southwest |
| Start | Walsall |
| Primary destinations | Wolverhampton Birmingham Worcester Cheltenham Gloucester Stroud Bristol Weston-super-Mare Bridgwater Taunton |
| End | Exeter |
| Construction dates | 1962 - 1977 |
| Motorways joined |  M6 motorway 4A -  M42 motorway 8 -  M50 motorway 15 -  M4 motorway 18A -  M49 motorway |
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- This article is about the M5 motorway in England. See M5 for other roads numbered "M5".
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from the M6 at Great Barr to Exeter in Devon. Heading south from the M6, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley. The road continues past Droitwich Spa, Worcester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater and Taunton on its way to Exeter, ending at Junction 31. It is the primary gateway to south-west England and can get very busy in summer months, especially after 3pm on a Friday afternoon until 8pm between Junctions 15 and 24.
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[edit] Construction phases
[edit] Initial construction
The first 26 miles (42 km) of the M5 motorway to be built was constructed as a four-lane motorway (two lanes in each direction). This section, from Junction 4 (Lydiate Ash) in the north to a trumpet junction with the M50 in the south, opened in 1963.[1] The southern end was called a trumpet junction because of its shape: a 270 degree curved bend. There were no other exits from this trumpet junction though room was left for an extension to the south.
The motorway was extended in sections, from 1967 to 1970, northwards from Junction 4; and Frankley services was built. Much of the northern section beyond Junction 3, from about Quinton to its junction with the M6 motorway, was elevated motorway built on concrete pillars. The northern extension was a six-lane motorway (three lanes in each direction).[1]
It was also extended southwards, in sections, from 1967 to 1977, through Somerset, to Exeter, as a six-lane motorway (three lanes in each direction).[1] The site of the trumpet junction with the M50 became a normal motorway to motorway junction, Junction 8. A new services area was also built nearby, Strensham services; and the south-bound slip road from the services links down into this roundabout. It appears that the short section between junctions 27 and 29 was opened a few years earlier than its adjoining section, as the A38 Cullompton Bypass. The termini for this section have since been removed, although part of the southern terminal roundabout is now used as an emergency access.[2]
[edit] M42 link
In the late 1980s a new junction 4a was built as part of the M42 motorway construction project. The route of the M42 was decided as early as 1972 but, due to planning delays, approval at the Bromsgrove end was not obtained until 1986.[3]
[edit] Widening the four-lane section
The first-built section of M5, from junctions 3 to 8, was widened to provide six lanes (three lanes in each direction) in the early 1990s. During this work the Northbound Strensham Services was completely rebuilt further away from the new junction. Junction 7 was also remodelled into a roundabout junction.[4]
[edit] Addition of crawler lanes
The Avonmouth Bridge was converted to eight lanes (four lanes in each direction) in the early 2000s. Later, in 2005–2006, parts of the M5 between Junctions 17 and 20 were widened to 7 lanes (four lanes climbing the hills and three lanes descending the hills); information boards were added and parts of the central reservation was converted to a concrete crash barrier. During this stage of construction the M5 became Britain's longest contraflow system,[5][6] spanning 9 miles (14 km) between junctions 19 and 20. The M5 contraflow was said to be the most complicated ever built in the UK as the motorway is on a split level going around the steep hills of Gordano Valley; meaning four lanes plus an additional emergency vehicle lane were squeezed into that section.[7] Most of the contraflow had speed limits of 40 mph (64 km/h) and required six speed cameras to enforce the speed limit through the narrow lanes.[8]
[edit] Junction 12
Junction 12 was originally a northbound exit only junction. In 2002 a southbound exit was added. The Highways Agency did not anticipate the traffic flows through the junction and the resultant queues can now extend back onto the motorway.[9]
[edit] Features
Notable features of the M5 include the four level Almondsbury Interchange, between the M5 and the M4 near Bristol. Another is the Avonmouth Bridge that is often a bottleneck in heavy traffic. Beyond that are the split-level carriageways, as the motorway climbs the sides of the hills above the Gordano valley, between Portishead and Clevedon. Junction 1 surrounds a surviving gatehouse from the former Sandwell Hall.
The M5 follows the route of the A38 road quite closely. The two deviate slightly around Bristol and the area south of Bristol (junctions 16 to 22). The A38 goes straight through the centre of Bristol and passes by Bristol International Airport; whereas the M5 skirts around both of them, with access to the airport from junctions 18, 19 or 22. The A38 continues south from where the M5 finishes in Devon.
Between Junction 21, Weston-super-Mare and Junction 22, Burnham-on-Sea, the M5 passes by Brent Knoll and has a long gradual curve that deviates from the straight line of the motorway. It is commonly believed that this is because it is to bypass the hill and village, but it is in fact down to an error in the compulsory land purchases made at the time which left the route of the motorway having to arch around this area.[citation needed]
[edit] Route
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Charlesworth, George (1984). A History of British Motorways. London: Thomas Telford Ltd. ISBN 0-7277-0159-2.
- ^ SABRE Photo Gallery: Click image to close this window
- ^ The Motorway Archive - M42
- ^ The Motorway Archive - M5 Widening, junctions 3 to 8
- ^ Sky News - UK's Longest Contraflow
- ^ BBC News - 'Most complex' contraflow
- ^ Western Daily Press - West beware! It's Britain's biggest road contraflow
- ^ Road Traffic Technology - RedSpeed International Take On Europe's Largest Contraflow
- ^ "Agency admits error over junction", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2005-11-18. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
[edit] External links
- Central Motorway Police Group
- CBRD Motorway database - M5
- CBRD videos - M5
- Major roads Of Great Britain - M5
- The Motorway Archive
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