| M50 motorway | |
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The M50 highlighted in dark blue in the south west. |
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The M50, looking south-west from the Ryton Bridge towards Ross-on-Wye |
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| Route information | |
| Length: | 21 mi (34 km) |
| Existed: | 1960 – present |
| History: | Constructed 1960–1962 |
| Major junctions | |
| East end: | Strensham |
M5 motorway |
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| West end: | Ross-on-Wye |
| Road network | |
The M50 is a motorway in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England. It is 21 miles (34 km) long and is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur. It is the only motorway-class road in Herefordshire.
Contents |
The M50 runs in a southwesterly/northeasterly direction between the M5 motorway just north of Tewkesbury and the A40 road and A449 road at Ross-on-Wye. After leaving the M5 at junction 8, it passes north of Tewkesbury and then south of Ledbury. Between junctions 1 and 2, it crosses the River Severn on the Queenhill Bridge, which also covers the associated flood plain. After passing north of Newent, the motorway reaches its terminus at junction 4.
The M50 was built by Tarmac Construction between 1958 and 1962:[1]
The route was part of a strategic route from the Midlands to South Wales (also including the A449 and A40 and so was constructed as an early priority.[2]) [3] It is one of the few British motorways that has not been widened, instead retaining its original layout of only two lanes in each direction.
Data[4] from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.
| M50 motorway | |||
| km | Eastbound exits | Junction | Westbound exits |
| 0.0 | The Midlands, Worcester, Birmingham, The South West, Tewkesbury, Bristol, M5 | M5, J8 [coord 1] |
Start of motorway |
| 2.8 | Tewkesbury A38 | J1 | Malvern A38 |
| 17.5 | Gloucester A417 | J2 | Hereford, Ledbury A417 |
| 28.9 | Newent B4421 | J3 | Newent B4421 |
| 34.7 | Start of motorway | J4 [coord 2] |
South Wales, Monmouth, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye A449 |
Although not served directly by motorway service areas, the M50 is served by a service area at Strensham services operated by RoadChef, just north of the M50's northeastern terminus junction with junction 8 of the M5. At the other end of the M50 on the A449 road near junction 4 south western terminus of the M50, there was a service area operated by Welcome Break called Ross Spur services, but it recently closed, and only the southwest bound BP garage remains open.[5]
The junction with the M5 was originally a free-flowing trumpet-style junction,[6] but was converted to a roundabout when the M5 was widened in the 1990s.[7] Junction 1, where the M50 meets the A38, is a partial cloverleaf. Junctions 2 and 3 have 90° turns from the deceleration lane into the slip roads, which are hazardous for high-speed driving.
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