List of motorways in the United Kingdom
UK motorways in 2016
M-designated motorway
under construction
Upgraded A-road designation
under reconstruction
The list of motorways in the United Kingdom is a complete list of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that whilst one numbering scheme is used for Great Britain, roads in Northern Ireland are allocated their own numbers on an ad hoc basis.[1]
Great Britain
M-designated motorways
| Link | Route | Ceremonial Counties (England), Council Areas (Scotland) and Principal Areas (Wales) |
|---|---|---|
| M1 | Nicknamed the 'gateway to the North'. The eastern north-south motorway linking London (Hendon) to Leeds and continuing north to the A1 near Garforth. The first inter-urban motorway. | Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire |
| M2 | From Strood to Faversham. Bypasses the Medway Towns. | Kent |
| M3 | Main motorway from London to the south coast. Linking Sunbury-on-Thames to Southampton. | Surrey, Hampshire |
| M4 | The southern east-west motorway linking London (Chiswick) to Bristol and on to South Wales, terminating just beyond Pontarddulais. | Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire |
| M5 | The main motorway through South West England. Linking the M6 at Great Barr (on the Birmingham / West Bromwich / Walsall border) to Exminster near Exeter. | West Midlands, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Somerset, Devon |
| M6 | The main western north-south motorway linking the North West of England with the South. Starts at M1 near Rugby and terminates at the A74(M) at Gretna which continues to Abington, at which it becomes the M74, continuing to Glasgow | Leicestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria |
| M6 Toll | A toll motorway bypassing a busy stretch of the M6 around the Birmingham and Wolverhampton areas from near Coleshill to Cannock. | West Midlands, Staffordshire |
| M8 | Linking Edinburgh to the A8 at Langbank, via Glasgow and Livingston. | Edinburgh, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire |
| M9 | Linking the M8 just west of Edinburgh to Dunblane via Stirling and Falkirk. | Edinburgh, West Lothian, Falkirk, Stirling |
| M11 | Linking London (Woodford) to Cambridge. | Greater London, Essex, Cambridgeshire |
| M18 | Linking the M1 at Rotherham to the M62 near Goole. | South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| M20 | Linking the M25 at Swanley to Folkestone. | Kent |
| M23 | Linking Hooley in Surrey (just north of the M25, and south of Coulsdon) to Crawley. | Surrey, West Sussex |
| M25 | The London orbital motorway, numbered clockwise from Dartford around London to Thurrock. (The Dartford Crossing between Thurrock and Dartford is not classified as a motorway, being the A282.) | Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex |
| M26 | A short link between the M25 at Sevenoaks and the M20 before Maidstone. | Kent |
| M27 | The south coast route running from Cadnam, west of Southampton, to Portsmouth. | Hampshire |
| M32 | A spur from the M4 near Winterbourne to central Bristol. | Gloucestershire, Bristol |
| M40 | The southeast-northwest motorway linking Denham, west of London, to the M42 south of Solihull. | Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire |
| M42 | Part of the Birmingham orbital motorway, from the M5 near Bromsgrove, running around the south and east of Birmingham and continuing north towards Measham. A section near Coleshill has been replaced by the M6 Toll. | Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire |
| M45 | A short spur linking the A45 south west of Rugby to the M1 south east of Rugby and north of Daventry. | Warwickshire, Northamptonshire |
| M48 | The Severn Bridge, linking the M4 at Olveston (near Thornbury), over the River Severn, to the M4 at Rogiet (near Caldicot). This used to be part of the M4 before the Second Severn Crossing was built. | Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire |
| M49 | A short link from the M5 to the M4 west of Bristol. | Bristol, Gloucestershire |
| M50 | Linking the M5 north of Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye. | Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire |
| M53 | Linking Wallasey and Chester. | Merseyside, Cheshire |
| M54 | Linking the M6 north of Wolverhampton to Wellington west of Telford. | Staffordshire, Shropshire |
| M55 | Linking the M6 north of Preston to Blackpool. | Lancashire |
| M56 | Linking Manchester (Gatley) to the A5117 between Ellesmere Port and Chester. | Greater Manchester, Cheshire |
| M57 | The Liverpool bypass running north-west from the M62 near Huyton to Switch Island between Maghull and Aintree. | Merseyside |
| M58 | Linking Switch Island (between Maghull and Aintree, northern Liverpool) to Orrell, near Wigan. | Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester |
| M60 | The Manchester Outer Ring Road, an orbital motorway, numbered clockwise from Stockport. | Greater Manchester |
| M61 | Linking Manchester (Worsley) to Bamber Bridge near Preston. | Greater Manchester, Lancashire |
| M62 | The trans-Pennine link – connecting Liverpool to the A63 between North Cave and Newport, west of Kingston upon Hull. There is a gap in the motorway between Winton and Simister where the road has been reclassified to become the northern part of the M60 Manchester orbital motorway. From its western terminus to J6, the M62 is not a trunk road and is under the jurisdiction of Liverpool City Council. | Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire |
| M65 | Linking Bamber Bridge near Preston to Colne. From J10 to J14, the M65 is not a trunk road and is under the jurisdiction of Lancashire County Council. | Lancashire |
| M66 | Linking Ramsbottom to the M60 at Whitefield. | Lancashire, Greater Manchester |
| M67 | Linking the M60 at Denton, east Manchester, to Hattersley, east of Hyde. | Greater Manchester |
| M69 | Linking Coventry to Leicester. | Warwickshire, Leicestershire |
| M73 | Linking the M74 near Uddingston to the M80, south-west of Cumbernauld. | North Lanarkshire, Glasgow |
| M74 | Linking Glasgow (Pollokshields) to the A74(M) at Abington. | Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire |
| M77 | Linking the M8 at Glasgow (Pollokshields) to Fenwick near Kilmarnock. | Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire |
| M80 | Linking the M8 at Glasgow (Riddrie) and the M9 south of Stirling. | Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling |
| M90 | Linking Inverkeithing, north of the Forth Road Bridge, to Perth. The road to link the road across the Forth is under construction as part of the Queensferry Crossing project.[2] | Fife, Perth and Kinross |
| M180 | Linking the M18 at Thorne to the junction of the A15 (south of the Humber Bridge) and A180 (west of Grimsby). | South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire |
| M181 | A spur from the M180 running to the west of Scunthorpe. | Lincolnshire |
| M271 | Spurs from the M27 heading north to the A3057 (south of Romsey), and south to Redbridge, Southampton. | Hampshire |
| M275 | A spur from the M27 on Horsea Island into Portsmouth (Landport). The motorway is not a trunk road and is under the jurisdiction of Portsmouth City Council. | Hampshire |
| M602 | Linking the M62 at Winton to Salford, just west of the centre of Manchester. | Greater Manchester |
| M606 | A spur from the M62 near Cleckheaton into Bradford. | West Yorkshire |
| M621 | Linking the M62 at Gildersome to the M1 near Rothwell. The motorway runs close to the centre of Leeds. | West Yorkshire |
| M876 | Linking the M80 near Denny, north-west of Falkirk, to the A876 near the Kincardine Bridge. A short section of the motorway north of Stenhousemuir is classified as the M9. | Falkirk |
| M898 | A spur from the M8 near Erskine to the A898, the Erskine Bridge approach road. | Renfrewshire |
Upgraded A-road designations
| Link | Route | Ceremonial Counties (England), Council Areas (Scotland) and Principal Areas (Wales) |
|---|---|---|
| A1(M) | The parts of the A1 between London and Gateshead that have been upgraded to motorway. There are five sections of the A1 that have been upgraded:
|
Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Tyne and Wear |
| A3(M) | Linking the dual-carriageway A3 north of Horndean to the A27 near Havant, running parallel to the A3. | Hampshire |
| A8(M) | A spur motorway from Baillieston Interchange to Swinton Interchange in Scotland and is the shortest motorway at 0.2 miles long. | Glasgow |
| A38(M) | A spur from the M6 at the Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) to central Birmingham, also known as the Aston Expressway. It has no central reservation, but uses a tidal flow system: the number of lanes open in each direction varies according to prevailing traffic conditions. | West Midlands |
| A48(M) | Linking the M4 near Castleton to Cardiff (St Mellons). | Newport, Cardiff |
| A57(M) | Known as the Mancunian Way, forms the southern part of Manchester's inner ring road, running from a junction on Deansgate to the A635 near Piccadilly Station. It is elevated and runs through the centre of the campus of UMIST, now part of the University of Manchester.
It also passes through the Manchester Metropolitan University, just South of the John Dalton building, and north of the Union building. |
Greater Manchester |
| A58(M) | The western part of the Leeds inner ring road, running from Wellington Road (A58) to join the A64(M) at the junction with Claypit Lane (also A58). | West Yorkshire |
| A64(M) | The eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road, running from the A58(M) at the junction with Claypit Lane (A58), to York Road (A64). | West Yorkshire |
| A66(M) | A spur from the A1(M) near Cleasby joining the A66 heading into Darlington. | North Yorkshire |
| A74(M) | Linking the M74 at Abington to the M6 at Gretna. | South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Cumbria |
| A167(M) | An urban motorway in central Newcastle upon Tyne running from just north of the Tyne Bridge to just north of Newcastle University. | Tyne and Wear |
| A194(M) | Linking the A1(M) at Birtley (near Gateshead) to A194 near Wardley, leading to the Tyne Tunnel. | Tyne and Wear |
| A308(M) | Linking the M4 junction 8/9 to the A308 near Bray. | Berkshire |
| A329(M) | Linking Bracknell to Winnersh near Reading, crossing the M4. | Berkshire |
| A404(M) | Linking the M4 junction 8/9 to the A4 at Maidenhead Thicket. | Berkshire |
| A601(M) | A spur from the M6 at Carnforth to the A6 near Warton. The southern part is single carriageway. | Lancashire |
| A627(M) | Linking Rochdale and Chadderton, crossing the M62. | Greater Manchester |
| A635(M) | Forms a small part of the Mancunian Way for 0.3 miles before becoming the A57(M). It isn't signposted and was formerly the UK's smallest motorway.[3] | Greater Manchester |
| A823(M) | A spur from the M90 near Rosyth to the A823 south of Dunfermline. | Fife |
Former motorways
Roads which used to be motorways but have been downgraded:
| Link | Route |
|---|---|
| M10 | A short spur linking St Albans to the M1 near Hemel Hempstead. Now part of the A414. |
| M15 | The designation for the Ringway 2 upgrade of the A406 (North Circular Road) and A205 (South Circular Road). Only the section between junction 4 of the M11 and Redbridge Roundabout was built to motorway standard and was initially signed as M11 because the section built, at the time, only led to and from the M11. When the route was extended to Beckton, this section of M11 was redesignated as the A406 (The North Circular).[4] |
| M41 | The London West Cross Route, a spur from the London Westway (A40(M)) and the only part of the western section of the London Motorway Box to be built, now A3220.[5] |
| A18(M) | A spur from M18. Mostly now part of M180, although a section has been abandoned. |
| A40(M) | The London Westway, now the A40.[5] |
| A41(M) | The Tring bypass, now the A41.[6] |
| A46(M) | A spur towards Leicester from M1 at junction 21, now part of the A5460.[7] |
| A102(M) | The London East Cross Route, in two sections:
|
| A329(M) | The northern third of the A329(M) from Winnersh to Reading, now the A3290. Downgraded to permit Reading council to dedicate one lane for buses. |
| A6144(M) | Formerly the longest single-carriageway motorway spur in the United Kingdom from the M60 north of Sale towards Carrington. Now just a spur of the A6144. |
Motorways that have been renumbered
| Link | Route |
|---|---|
| M16 | Originally to be the northern section of the M25 but was renumbered before opening. |
| M63 | Merged with parts of the M62 and M66 to form the new M60 Manchester orbital motorway. |
| M85 | Now M90 J10-11. Previously the M90 carried on along the spur into Perth, leaving the main route ahead as the M85[8] |
| M531 | Now the southern section of the M53.[9] |
| A20(M) | Now the M20 from J5-8.[10] |
| A423(M) | Originally A4(M)[11] and then part of the M4. Now the A404(M).[12] |
| A6127(M) | Now the A167(M)[13] |
Motorways under construction or planned
The £380m A1(M) Leeming - Barton upgrade[14] commenced construction in Spring 2014 with completion scheduled for Summer 2017.
The Queensferry Crossing and its approach roads are being constructed as a motorway and will extend the M90 to the M9 at junction 1a re-numbering the M9 spur when finished in 2016.
The only other new motorway constructions currently being planned in the UK is a motorway running south of the city of Newport, south Wales. This motorway remains to be properly named, only being described as the M4 relief road.
Unbuilt motorways
There have been many plans for motorways in the UK that have not been built. Below is a list of plans that were not built (not exhaustive):
- M12 in 3 forms:[15]
- From the London end of the M11 to Brentwood;
- From the London end of the M11 to Maplin Sands Airport (also not built);
- From the M25 (in the vicinity of the M11) to Chelmsford.
- M13, from East London to Maplin Sands airport passing south of Southend.[16]
- M17 Castle Donington bypass, a short spur off the M1;
- M31, a bypass of the busiest section of the M25, cutting the corner for traffic from the West.[17]
- M59, M58 junction 2 to south of Preston.[18]
- M64, between the M6 south of Stoke-on-Trent and the M1 near Derby. Mostly built as the A50.
- M601, which would have entered Manchester from the M62 (now the M60) in the Irwell Valley at Clifton near Pendlebury.[19]
- M650, Airedale Motorway from near Silsden to Shipley.[20]
- A6(M) (or M66 extension), which would have formed an eastern bypass for Stockport.[21] As of March 2006, this is still under the planning stage as part of the SEMMMS (south east Manchester multi modal study) project (though not as motorway).
- A556(M), which would have cut the corner between the M6 and M56 near Warrington.[22]
- Chippenham Spur, off the M4[23]
- Strensham – Solihull motorway, a link between the M50 and M42 or M69[24]
- Most of the M67 – from Hattersley to the M1 via the Hope Valley in the Peak District national park and Sheffield. Various routes have been proposed but have yet to come to fruition due to controversy and/or expense.[25] In 2014, the then Sheffield Hallam MP and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg signalled his support for improvements to the Woodhead Pass.[26] The latest proposal to extend the M67 is to tunnel under the Peak District from Hattersley to Stannington (an outer-suburb of Sheffield) and to link that tunnel to a new underground motorway providing links to the M1.[27]
Many cities had urban motorway plans, most of which were not built. London,[28] Newcastle,[29] Liverpool,[30] Manchester/SELNEC and Glasgow[31] all had extensive plans.
Northern Ireland
M-designated motorways
| Link | Route | Council areas |
|---|---|---|
| M1 | Linking Belfast to Dungannon. | Belfast, Lisburn, Craigavon, Dungannon and South Tyrone |
| M2 | In two sections, one linking Belfast to Antrim, and the other bypassing Ballymena. The section in between was planned, but never built. | Belfast, Newtownabbey, Antrim, Ballymena |
| M3 | Linking the M2 in north Belfast to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. | Belfast |
| M5 | Linking the M2 in north Belfast to Newtownabbey. | Belfast, Newtownabbey |
| M12 | A spur from the M1 near Derrymacash to the north of Portadown. | Craigavon |
| M22 | Linking the M2 at Antrim to Randalstown. | Antrim |
Upgraded A-road designations
| Link | Route | Council areas |
|---|---|---|
| A8(M) | A spur from the M2 near Glengormley to the A8 north-west of Newtownabbey. | Newtownabbey |
Unbuilt motorways
The following motorways were planned, but never built.
- M11, from the M1 going through Lisburn and then crossing the M1 again and ending at Newry[32]
- M23, from the M2 to Derry[32]
There were also urban motorway plans for Belfast[33][34]
See also
Notes
- ↑ "Northern Ireland Assembly – WRITTEN ANSWERS Friday 15 December 2000". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- ↑ Pattison, Andrew (27 November 2012). "Scotland gets its first "Managed Motorway"". Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ↑ "A635(M) Mancunian Way only a single bridge". Pathetic Motorways.
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M15
- 1 2 3 Under its charter, motorways are excluded from the remit of Transport for London. These routes had their motorway status removed to allow TfL control over them.
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A41(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A46(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M85
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M531
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A20(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A4(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A423(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A6127(M)
- ↑
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M12
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M13
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M31
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M59
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M601
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M650
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A6(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: A556(M)
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: Chippenham Spur
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: Strensham – Solihull Motorway
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: M67 Manchester - Sheffield (across the Peak District)
- ↑ Transport North: "Go the whole way, complete the M67, with a tunnel underneath"
- ↑ Why is Sheffield Lagging Behind Leeds & Manchester?
- ↑ CBRD Histories: London Ringways
- ↑ Pathetic Motorways: Tyneside Story
- ↑ CBRD Histories: Liverpool Inner Motorway
- ↑ CBRD Histories: Glasgow
- 1 2 Northern Ireland Roads Site
- ↑ Northern Ireland Roads Site: Belfast Urban Motorway
- ↑ Northern Ireland Roads Site: Motorway History
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