| M5 motorway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 162.9 mi (262.2 km) |
| Existed: | 1962 – present |
| History: | Constructed 1962–1977 |
| Major junctions | |
| From: | West Bromwich |
(M6 J8) → M6 motorway J4a → M42 motorway J8 → M50 motorway J15 → M4 motorway J18a → M49 motorway |
|
| To: | Exminster |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
West Bromwich, Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Worcester, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Taunton, Exeter |
| Road network | |
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley. The road continues past Bromsgrove, Droitwich Spa, Worcester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea, Bridgwater and Taunton on its way to Exeter, ending at Junction 31. It is the primary gateway to south-west England. Congestion is common during the summer, on Friday afternoons, and school and bank holidays on the section south of the M4.
Contents |
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 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 an isolated landmark hill called Brent Knoll. The Willow Man sculpture is visible from both carriageways, and acts as a landmark just to the south of Junction 23.
The Almondsbury Interchange, between the M5 and the M4 near Bristol is a four level interchange. The Avonmouth Bridge is often a bottleneck in heavy traffic.[1] There are split-level carriageways where 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 first 26 miles (42 km) of the M5 motorway to be built was constructed as a dual two-lane motorway (two lanes in each direction), with Worcestershire County Council acting as engineer.[2] This section, from Junction 4 (Lydiate Ash) in the north to a trumpet junction with the M50 in the south, opened in 1963.[2][3] 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 2 miles (3.2 km) dual two-lane section between junctions 16 and 17 was built at Filton, near Bristol opened in 1962, with Gloucestershire County Council acting as engineer which was intended to replace the pre-war Filton bypass.[2][3][4] This section was widened to a dual three-lane motorway in 1969.[3]
The section north of Junction 4 was constructed in sections, from 1967 to 1970 together with the Frankley services. Much of the northern section beyond Junction 3, from about Quinton to its junction with the M6 motorway was constructed as an elevated dual 3-lane motorway using concrete pillars.[3]
The M5 was also extended southwards, in sections, from 1967 to 1977, through Somerset, to Exeter, as a dual three-lane motorway[3] together with the Strensham services.
The short section between junctions 27 and 29 was built in 1967/69, by Devon County Council, as the A38 Cullompton Bypass, with the intention that it should become part of the M5.[2] The termini for this section have since been removed, although part of the southern terminal roundabout is now used as an emergency access.[5] It was developed to motorway standards, and incorporated into the M5 in 1975.[2]
The section from Junctions 16 and 18 was illuminated in about 1973 as part or a wider policy announced by UK Minister for Transport Industries in 1972 to illuminate the 86 miles (138 km) of UK motorway particularly prone to fog.[6][6]
In the late 1980s 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, the short section of the M42 north of Bromsgrove did not open until 1989.[7]
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 rebuilt further away from the new junction. Junctions 7 and 8 were also remodelled into a roundabout junction.[8]
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); variable message signs were added and parts of the central reservation was converted to a concrete step barrier. During this stage of construction the M5 became Britain's longest contraflow system,[9][10] 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 around the steep hills of the Gordano Valley; meaning four lanes plus an additional emergency vehicle lane were squeezed into that section.[11] 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.[12]
In 2002 extended exits for Junction 12 were constructed. The Highways Agency did not anticipate the traffic flows through the junction and the resultant queues can now extend back onto the motorway.[13] This is because of an increase in traffic from Stroud intending to use the M5 northbound. The distance from junctions 12 and 13 is similar and traffic congestion is heavy on the A419 towards junction 13 whereas it is usually lighter on the B4008 towards junction 12. As traffic leaving the M5 northbound towards Gloucester needs to give way to this traffic coming from the B4008, the queue on the motorway can extend beyond the first sign for the junction. More improvements are scheduled, as at 2010.
At junction 28 the Cullompton services are only signed on the motorway in the northbound direction, and are not signed in the southbound direction, this was implemented to reduce congestion at the low capacity junction, and there is still access available to the services southbound through the junction respectively. Also the northbound exit slip to the junction was reduced to one lane instead of two to reduce traffic on the small roundabout at the west side of the junction.
In 2009 it was announced that the lighting between junctions 30 and 31 had been turned off between midnight and 5am to save energy.[14]
Proposals were announced in September 2009 for a new Gloucestershire Gateway Services between junctions 11a and 12.[15] A planning application was submitted in December 2009.[16] Stroud District councillors approved the services in August 2010.[17]
On the evening of Friday 4 November 2011, seven people were killed and a further 51 injured in a major crash involving 36 vehicles (including cars, vans, and large goods vehicles), which took place close to junction 25 in West Monkton, near Taunton.[18] Some vehicles were burnt out in the fire which developed at the scene.[19] The cause of the crash, which took place in wet foggy conditions close to a firework display, is currently being investigated.[20]
Data[21] [22][23] from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. Where both the start and end point of the junction are known, both have been included.
| M5 motorway junctions | ||||
| km | Northbound exits (B Carriageway) | Junction | Southbound exits (A Carriageway) | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | The North West, Wolverhampton, Birmingham (North & East), Walsall M6 | M6, J8 |
Start of motorway | |
| 4.3 5.3 |
West Bromwich, Birmingham (North West) A41 | J1 | West Bromwich, Birmingham (North West) A41 | |
| 8.4 9.3 |
Dudley, Wolverhampton, Birmingham (West) A4123 |
J2 | Dudley, Wolverhampton, Birmingham (West) A4123 | |
| 13.8 14.5 |
Birmingham (South West & Central) A456 | J3 | Kidderminster A456 | |
| Frankley Services | Services | Frankley Services | ||
| 22.5 23.2 |
Birmingham (South) A38 Stourbridge A491 |
J4 | Bromsgrove A38 Stourbridge A491 |
|
| 25.9 26.7 |
NEC, Airport, M42, London (M40), The North East (M1) | J4A |
Birmingham (South & East), Redditch M42, London (M40) | |
| 34.5 35.0 |
Droitwich, Bromsgrove A38 | J5 | Droitwich A38 | |
| 43.5 44.2 |
Worcester (North), Kidderminster A449 | J6 | Worcester (North) A449, Evesham A4538 | |
| 48.6 49.4 |
Worcester (South), Evesham A44 | J7 | Worcester (South) A44 | |
| Strensham services | Services | Strensham services | ||
| 63.9 64.4 |
South Wales, Ross-on-Wye M50 | J8 | South Wales, Ross-on-Wye M50 | |
| 69.8 70.6 |
Tewkesbury A438 Evesham A46 | J9 | Tewkesbury A438 Evesham A46 | |
| 77.7 78.0 |
No access | J10 | Cheltenham A4019 | |
| 82.1 82.8 |
Cheltenham, Gloucester A40 | J11 | Cheltenham, Gloucester, Staverton Airport A40 | |
| 85.9 86.9 |
Gloucester, Cirencester A417 | J11A | London, Cirencester A417 | |
| Gloucestershire Gateway Services (Construction starts late 2011, opening in 2013) |
Services | Gloucestershire Gateway Services (Construction starts late 2011, opening in 2013) |
||
| 96.9 97.4 |
Gloucester (A38) | J12 | Gloucester (A38) | |
| 101.8 102.5 |
Stroud A419 | J13 | Stroud, Dursley A419 | |
| 115.7 | Michaelwood services | Services | Michaelwood services | |
| 118.4 119.0 |
Dursley B4509 | J14 | Thornbury B4509 | |
| 130.5 131.5 |
South Wales, London M4 | J15 Almondsbury Interchange |
London, South Wales M4 (M48), Bristol (M32) | |
| 132.0 132.5 |
Thornbury, Filton A38 | J16 | Thornbury, Filton A38 | |
| 135.5 136.2 |
Bristol (West), Cribbs Causeway A4018 B4055 | J17 | Bristol (West), Cribbs Causeway A4018 | |
| 140.6 141.2 |
South Wales, Cardiff, Newport M49 (M4(W)) | J18A | No access | |
| 141.6 142.0 |
Bristol A4 Avonmouth, Docks (A403) |
J18 | Avonmouth, Bristol (West), Airport A4 | |
| Avonmouth Bridge | Bridge | Avonmouth Bridge | ||
| 145.0 | Portishead, Royal Portbury Dock, Clifton (Toll) A369 Gordano Services |
J19 Services |
Portishead, Royal Portbury Dock A369 Gordano services |
|
| 155.6 | Nailsea, Clevedon B3133 | J20 | Clevedon, Nailsea B3133 | |
| 164.6 | Weston-super-Mare, Bristol (South) A370 | J21 | Weston-super-Mare A370 | |
| 175.6 | Sedgemoor services | Services | Sedgemoor services | |
| 179.8 | Burnham-on-Sea, Bristol (South), Airport A38 Weston-S-Mare (A370) |
J22 | Highbridge, Burnham-on-Sea A38 | |
| 188.1 | Highbridge A38 Glastonbury, Wells A39 |
J23 | Glastonbury, Wells A39 Bridgwater A38 |
|
| 196.0 196.3 |
Bridgwater, Minehead A38 Bridgwater services |
J24 Services |
Minehead, A38 (A39) Bridgwater services |
|
| 206.7 206.9 |
Taunton, Yeovil A358 | J25 | Honiton, Yeovil, Weymouth A358, Taunton (A38) | |
| 214.5 | Taunton Deane services | Services | Taunton Deane services | |
| 217.8 218.0 |
Wellington, Taunton A38 | J26 | Wellington A38 | |
| 230.7 231.3 |
Barnstaple, Tiverton A361, Wellington A38 | J27 | Barnstaple, Tiverton A361, Willand (B3181) | |
| 237.5 238.0 |
Cullompton B3181 Cullompton services |
J28 Services |
Cullompton B3181, Honiton A373 | |
| 253.8 254.4 |
Honiton A30 Exeter International Airport |
J29 | Honiton A30 (East) Exeter International Airport |
|
| 255.7 256.3 |
Exeter A379, Exmouth A376 Sidmouth (A3052), Exeter services |
J30 Services |
Exeter, Dawlish A379 Sidmouth, Exmouth A376 Exeter services |
|
| 261.4 261.7 |
Start of motorway | J31 | Bodmin, Okehampton A30 | |
| 261.8 | Bodmin, Okehampton A30 Non-motorway traffic |
Road becomes A38 to Plymouth and Torquay (A380) | ||
| Motorway • Primary road • Secondary road Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened Junction information gathered from Advanced Direction Signs March to June 2011 (J4A - J31). Coordinates from Google Maps, taken at the approximate centre of the junction |
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